[PATCH] Remove cached PID/TID in clone

[Florian Weimer]

On 10/13/2016 09:45 PM, Adhemerval Zanella wrote:
> This patch remove the PID cache and usage in current GLIBC code.  Current
> usage is mainly used for performance optimization to avoid the syscall,
> however it adds some issues:
>
>   - The exposed clone syscall will try to set pid/tid to make the new
>     thread somewhat compatible with current GLIBC assumptions.  This cause
>     a set of issue with new workloads and usercases (such as BZ#17214 and

“usecases”

>     [1]) as well for new internal usage of clone to optimize other algorithms
>     (such as clone plus CLONE_VM for posix_spawn, BZ#19957).
>
>   - The caching complexity also added some bugs in the past [2] [3] and
>     requires more effort of each port to handle such requirements (for
>     both clone and vfork implementation).
>
>   - Caching performance gain in mainly or getpid and some specific
>     code paths. The getpid performance leverage is questionable [4],
>     either by the idea of getpid being a hotspot as for the getpid
>     implementation itself (if it is indeed a justifiable hotspot a
>     vDSO symbol could let to a much more simpler solution).

It's a hotspot for incorrect/broken fork detection.

>     Other usage is mainly for non usual code paths, such as pthread
>     cancellation signal and handling.
>
> For thread creation (on atack allocation) the code simplification in fact

“stack allocation”

> adds some performance gain due the no need of transverse the stack
> cache and invalidate each element pid.
>
> Other thread usages will require a direct getpid syscall, such as
> cancellation/setxid signal, thread cancellation, thread fail path
> (at create_thread), and thread signal (pthread_kill and
> pthread_sigqueue).  However these are hardly usual hotspots and I
> think adding a syscall is justifiable.
>
> It also simplifies both the clone and vfork arch-specific implementation.
> And by review each fork implementation there are some discrepancies that
> this patch also solves:
>
>   - microblaze clone/vfork does not set/reset the pid/tid field
>   - hppa uses the default vfork implementation that fallback to fork.
>     Since vfork is deprecated I do not think we should bother with it.
>
> The patch also removes the TID caching in clone. My understanding for
> such semantic is try provide some pthread usage after a user program
> issue clone directly (as done by thread creation with CLONE_PARENT_SETTID
> and pthread tid member). However, as stated before in multiple threads,
> GLIBC provides clone syscalls without futher supporting all this

“further”

> semantics. It means that, although GLIBC currently tries a better effort,
> since it does not make any more guarantees, specially for newer and newer
> clone flags.

So the question is whether this is used internally.  Why do you think 
this is safe?  Because we set it again with SET_TID_ADDRESS?

> diff --git a/nptl/descr.h b/nptl/descr.h
> index 8e4938d..17a2c9f 100644
> --- a/nptl/descr.h
> +++ b/nptl/descr.h
> @@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ struct pthread
>       therefore stack) used' flag.  */
>    pid_t tid;
>
> -  /* Process ID - thread group ID in kernel speak.  */
> +  /* Ununsed.  */
>    pid_t pid;

Please rename to “pid_unused” or something like that, to make sure it's 
no longer referenced.

> diff --git a/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/getpid.c b/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/getpid.c
> index 1124549..2bfafed 100644
> --- a/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/getpid.c
> +++ b/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/getpid.c

Can you drop this file completely, so that the default implementation is 
used?

> diff --git a/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/pthread_kill.c b/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/pthread_kill.c

> @@ -49,14 +50,15 @@ __pthread_kill (pthread_t threadid, int signo)
>    /* We have a special syscall to do the work.  */
>    INTERNAL_SYSCALL_DECL (err);
>
> +  pid_t pid = getpid ();

Use __getpid for consistency?

>    /* One comment: The PID field in the TCB can temporarily be changed
>       (in fork).  But this must not affect this code here.  Since this
>       function would have to be called while the thread is executing
>       fork, it would have to happen in a signal handler.  But this is
>       no allowed, pthread_kill is not guaranteed to be async-safe.  */

Comment is outdated.

> diff --git a/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/pthread_sigqueue.c b/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/pthread_sigqueue.c
> index 7694d54..642366b 100644
> --- a/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/pthread_sigqueue.c
> +++ b/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/pthread_sigqueue.c
> @@ -49,12 +49,14 @@ pthread_sigqueue (pthread_t threadid, int signo, const union sigval value)
>    if (signo == SIGCANCEL || signo == SIGTIMER || signo == SIGSETXID)
>      return EINVAL;
>
> +  pid_t pid = getpid ();

Use __getpid for consistency?

 >      function would have to be called while the thread is executing
 >      fork, it would have to happen in a signal handler.  But this is

Comment is outdated.

> diff --git a/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/tst-clone2.c b/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/tst-clone2.c
> index 68a7e6d..b20332a 100644
> --- a/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/tst-clone2.c

It may make sense to update the file comment.

> -  pid_t pid = THREAD_GETMEM (THREAD_SELF, pid);
> -  pid_t tid = THREAD_GETMEM (THREAD_SELF, tid);
> +  /* Clone without flags do not cache the pid and tid is only set in thread

“does not cache”.  But the comment seems outdated?

> +     creation by using CLONE_PARENT_SETTID plus pthread tid field address.
> +     So to actually get all parent's pid and own pid/tid it requires to use
> +     the syscalls.  */
> +  pid_t ppid = getppid ();
> +  pid_t pid = getpid ();
> +  pid_t tid = syscall (__NR_gettid);
>
> +  while (write (pipefd[1], &ppid, sizeof ppid) < 0)
> +    continue;
>    while (write (pipefd[1], &pid, sizeof pid) < 0)
>      continue;
>    while (write (pipefd[1], &tid, sizeof tid) < 0)

These while loops look incorrect.  Perhaps just fail the test if the 
result is not equal to sizeof of the value being written?

> +  /* Some sanity checks for clone syscall: returned ppid should be currernt

“current”

Thanks,
Florian