Re: Question regarding mutex locking

From: Robert Hancock
Date: Tue Nov 27 2007 - 23:53:43 EST


Larry Finger wrote:
If a particular routine needs to lock a mutex, but it may be entered with that mutex already locked,
would the following code be SMP safe?

hold_lock = mutex_trylock()

..

if (hold_lock)
mutex_unlock()

Not if another task could be acquiring that lock at the same time, which is probably the case, otherwise you wouldn't need the mutex. In other words, if you're going to do this, you might as well toss the mutex entirely as it's about the same effect..

--
Robert Hancock Saskatoon, SK, Canada
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