Re: [PATCH v2 6/6] fs/dcache: Avoid remaining try_lock loop in shrink_dentry_list()

[Al Viro]

On Fri, Feb 23, 2018 at 12:50:25AM +0100, John Ogness wrote:

> Avoid the trylock loop by using dentry_kill(). When killing dentries
> from the dispose list, it is very similar to killing a dentry in
> dput(). The difference is that dput() expects to be the last user of
> the dentry (refcount=1) and will deref whereas shrink_dentry_list()
> expects there to be no user (refcount=0). In order to handle both
> situations with the same code, move the deref code from dentry_kill()
> into a new wrapper function dentry_put_kill(), which can be used
> by previous dentry_kill() users. Then shrink_dentry_list() can use
> the dentry_kill() to cleanup the dispose list.
> 
> This also has the benefit that the locking order is now the same.
> First the inode is locked, then the parent.

Current code moves the sucker to the end of list in that case; I'm not
at all sure that what you are doing will improve the situation at all...

You *still* have a trylock loop there - only it keeps banging at the
same dentry instead of going through the rest first...