spin_lock

[InuY4sha]

Can anybody give me the basics (or a *basic* instructions link)
regarding spinlocks and their usage? I really can't understand their
meaning...
Thanks .
R

[Thad Smith]

Re: spin_lock

InuY4sha wrote:

Can anybody give me the basics (or a *basic* instructions link)
regarding spinlocks and their usage? I really can't understand their
meaning...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spin_lock

--
Thad

[Chris Thomasson]

Re: spin_lock

"Antoninus Twink" <nospam@nospam. invalidwrote in message
news:slrnfvpt4n .50h.nospam@nos pam.invalid...

On 9 Apr 2008 at 13:12, Thad Smith wrote:

>InuY4sha wrote:

>>Can anybody give me the basics (or a *basic* instructions link)
>>regarding spinlocks and their usage? I really can't understand their
>>meaning...

>>
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spin_lock

>
That article seems to focus more on implementing spinlocks than on
using them...
>
A spinlock has the same function as a mutex: they're both mutual
exclusion locks. The only difference is the behavior when a thread tries
to gain a lock, but the lock is already held by another thread. If a
mutex is held by another thread, the current thread is suspended and
doesn't resume until it can gain the lock.

[...]

There are so-called adaptive mutexs that act like spinlocks when contention
arises. The difference is that the spin-count is bounded. When the limit is
reached, the calling threads becomes a member of the mutexs waitset.

[Rahul]

Re: spin_lock

On Apr 9, 5:34 pm, InuY4sha <inuY4...@email .itwrote:

Can anybody give me the basics (or a *basic* instructions link)
regarding spinlocks and their usage? I really can't understand their
meaning...
Thanks .
R

It is also known as busy waiting...

[Kaz Kylheku]

Re: spin_lock

On Apr 9, 9:53 am, Antoninus Twink <nos...@nospam. invalidwrote:

A spinlock has the same function as a mutex:

``Spinlock'' is to ``mutex'' what ``linked list'' is to ``abstract
sequence''.