Re: fcntl(F GETLEASE) semantics??

From: Michael Kerrisk
Date: Thu Aug 11 2005 - 03:14:35 EST


> Von: Peter Chubb <peterc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> >>>>> "Trond" == Trond Myklebust <trond.myklebust@xxxxxxxxxx> writes:
>
> Trond> to den 11.08.2005 Klokka 09:48 (+1000) skreiv Peter Chubb:
> >> Hi, The LTP test fcntl23 is failing. It does, in essence, fd =
> >> open(xxx, O_RDWR|O_CREAT, 0777); if (fcntl(fd, F_SETLEASE, F_RDLCK)
> >> == -1) fail;
> >>
> >> fcntl always returns EAGAIN here. The manual page says that a read
> >> lease causes notification when `another process' opens the file for
> >> writing or truncates it. The kernel implements `any process'
> >> (including the current one).
> >>
> >> Which semantics are correct? Personally I think that what the
> >> kernel implements is correct (you can't get a read lease unsless
> >> there are no writers _at_ _all_)
>
> Trond> A read lease should mean that there are no writers at all.
>
> Trond> If we were to allow the current process to open for write, then
> Trond> that would still mean that nobody else can get a lease. In
> Trond> effect you have been granted a lease with exclusive semantics
> Trond> (i.e. a write lease). You might as well request that instead of
> Trond> pretending it is a read lease.
>
> So the manual page is wrong. Fine.

No. The behavior in Linux recently, and arbitrarily (IMO) changed:

http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=linux-kernel&m=111502547506310&w=2
http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=linux-kernel&m=111755426027086&w=2

One of the developers of the file leases mechanism seems to have
agreed that this change should not have occurred:

http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=linux-kernel&m=111512619520116&w=2

but the suggested patch did not (yet) make its way into the kernel.

Stephen -- what is your take on this now?

Cheers,

Michael

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