Ongoing Optimization: A Data Race with CppMem

But we can improve and further improve the acquire-release semantics of the last post. Why should x be atomic? There is no reason. That was my first but incorrect assumption. See why?

A typical misunderstanding in applying the acquire-release semantic is to assume that the acquire operation is waiting for the release operation. So based on this assumption, you may think that x has not be an atomic variable. So we can further optimize the program.

// ongoingOptimizationAcquireReleaseBroken.cpp

#include <atomic>
#include <iostream>
#include <thread>

int x= 0;
std::atomic<int> y{0};

void writing(){  
  x= 2000;  
  y.store(11,std::memory_order_release);
}

void reading(){  
  std::cout << y.load(std::memory_order_acquire) << " ";  
  std::cout << x << std::endl;
}

int main(){
  std::thread thread1(writing);
  std::thread thread2(reading);
  thread1.join();
  thread2.join();
};

The program has a data race on x and has, therefore, undefined behavior. If y.store(11,std::memory_order_release) (line 12) is executed before y.load(std::memory_order_acquire) (line 16), the acquire-release semantic guarantees that x= 2000 (line 11) is executed before the reading of x in line 17. But if not. In this case, the reading of x will be executed simultaneously as the writing of x. So we have concurrent access to a shared variable, one of them is a write. That’s, per definition, a data race.

The table puts it in a nutshell.

Modernes C++ Mentoring

"Fundamentals for C++ Professionals" (open)

"Design Patterns and Architectural Patterns with C++" (open)

"C++20: Get the Details" (open)

"Concurrency with Modern C++" (open)

"Generic Programming (Templates) with C++": October 2024

"Embedded Programming with Modern C++": October 2024

"Clean Code: Best Practices for Modern C++": March 2025

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I made this mistake in my presentation “Multithreading done right?” in Berlin. In Moscow, I did it right. I never claimed that the C++ memory model is a piece of cake.

Now it’s time for CppMem. Let’s see what CppMem finds out.

CppMem

int main(){
  int x= 0;
  atomic_int y= 0;
  {{{ { 
      x= 2000;
      y.store(11,memory_order_release);
      }
  ||| {
      y.load(memory_order_acquire);
      x;
      }
  }}}
}

The data race occurs if one thread writes x= 2000 and the other reads x. The graph shows a dr symbol (data race) on the arrow.

What’s next?

The ultimate step in the process of ongoing optimization is still missing. In the next post, I will use the relaxed semantic.

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