1.0.41.42: ppc: Documentation and NEWS updates for threading.

[sbcl.git] / doc / manual / threading.texinfo

diff --git a/doc/manual/threading.texinfo b/doc/manual/threading.texinfo
index b681669..b51ba34 100644 (file)
--- a/doc/manual/threading.texinfo
+++ b/doc/manual/threading.texinfo
@@ -9,16 +9,21 @@ multiprocessing on machines that have more than one CPU, but it does
 not allow Lisp control of the scheduler.  This is found in the
 SB-THREAD package.
 
-This requires Linux (2.6+ or systems with NPTL backports) running on the
-x86 or x86-64 architecture, or SunOS (Solaris) on the x86.  Support for
-threading on Darwin (Mac OS X) and FreeBSD on the x86 is experimental.
+Threads are part of the default build on x86[-64] Linux only.
+
+They are also experimentally supported on: x86[-64] Darwin (Mac OS X),
+x86[-64] FreeBSD, x86 SunOS (Solaris), and PPC Linux. On these platforms
+threads must be explicitly enabled at build-time, see @file{INSTALL} for
+directions.
 
 @menu
 * Threading basics::            
 * Special Variables::           
+* Atomic Operations::           
 * Mutex Support::               
 * Semaphores::                  
 * Waitqueue/condition variables::  
+* Barriers::                    
 * Sessions/Debugging::          
 * Foreign threads::             
 * Implementation (Linux x86/x86-64)::  
@@ -91,6 +96,17 @@ The last point means that
 
 prints @code{0} and not @code{1} as of 0.9.6.
 
+@node Atomic Operations
+@comment  node-name,  next,  previous,  up
+@section Atomic Operations
+
+SBCL provides a few special purpose atomic operations, particularly
+useful for implementing lockless algorithms.
+
+@include macro-sb-ext-atomic-decf.texinfo
+@include macro-sb-ext-atomic-incf.texinfo
+@include macro-sb-ext-compare-and-swap.texinfo
+
 @node Mutex Support
 @comment  node-name,  next,  previous,  up
 @section Mutex Support
@@ -143,6 +159,7 @@ experimental, subject to API changes without notice.
 @include fun-sb-thread-semaphore-count.texinfo
 @include fun-sb-thread-semaphore-name.texinfo
 @include fun-sb-thread-signal-semaphore.texinfo
+@include fun-sb-thread-try-semaphore.texinfo
 @include fun-sb-thread-wait-on-semaphore.texinfo
 
 @node Waitqueue/condition variables
@@ -229,6 +246,36 @@ it.
 @include fun-sb-thread-condition-notify.texinfo
 @include fun-sb-thread-condition-broadcast.texinfo
 
+@node Barriers
+@comment  node-name,  next,  previous,  up
+@section Barriers
+
+These are based on the Linux kernel barrier design, which is in turn
+based on the Alpha CPU memory model.  They are presently implemented for
+x86, x86-64, and PPC systems, and behave as compiler barriers on all
+other CPUs.
+
+In addition to explicit use of the @code{sb-thread:barrier} macro, the
+following functions and macros also serve as @code{:memory} barriers:
+
+@itemize
+@item
+@code{sb-ext:atomic-decf} and @code{sb-ext:atomic-incf}.
+@item
+@code{sb-ext:compare-and-swap}.
+@item
+@code{sb-thread:get-mutex}, @code{sb-thread:release-mutex},
+@code{sb-thread:with-mutex} and @code{sb-thread:with-recursive-lock}.
+@item
+@code{sb-thread:signal-semaphore}, @code{sb-thread:try-semaphore} and
+@code{sb-thread:wait-on-semaphore}.
+@item
+@code{sb-thread:condition-wait}, @code{sb-thread:condition-notify} and
+@code{sb-thread:condition-broadcast}.
+@end itemize
+
+@include macro-sb-thread-barrier.texinfo
+
 @node Sessions/Debugging
 @comment  node-name,  next,  previous,  up
 @section Sessions/Debugging