How Can Atomic Operations on Doubles and Vectors Be Achieved on x86_64 Despite C Limitations?

Despite the limitations of C 's std::atomic, which lacks lock-free support, x86_64 provides assembly-level support for certain atomic operations on doubles and vectors.

Atomic Double Operations on x86_64

• Naturally-aligned loads and stores (up to 8 bytes) are atomic.
• Atomic read-modify-write operations (RMW) require a retry loop with cmpxchg.
• cmpxchg16b can be used for 16-byte atomic loads, stores, and RMW.

SSE/AVX Vector Operations on x86_64

While C currently lacks support for atomic AVX/SSE vector operations, there is no way to guarantee atomic transfers of 128b or 256b cache lines across the entire system.

However, certain precautions can be taken to minimize the risk of tearing when using vector loads/stores on shared arrays of aligned doubles.

Atomic 16B Load

• Using lock cmpxchg16b with desired=expected can provide an atomic 16B load.

Atomic 16B Store and RMW

• lock cmpxchg16b can be used for atomic 16B stores and RMW operations.

Atomic Operations on 16B Objects with 8B Halves

• It is possible to atomically update a 16B object while reading its 8B halves independently.

Compilers and Atomic Operations

Compilers may not always generate optimal assembler code for atomic operations. For example, they may avoid direct movsd loads/stores between XMM and double registers, opting instead for roundabout methods.

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