Re: [PATCH v7 1/4] rust: types: Add Ownable/Owned types

From: Boqun Feng
Date: Mon Mar 10 2025 - 13:09:10 EST


On Mon, Mar 10, 2025 at 10:57:24AM +0000, Oliver Mangold wrote:
> From: Asahi Lina <lina@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> By analogy to AlwaysRefCounted and ARef, an Ownable type is a (typically
> C FFI) type that *may* be owned by Rust, but need not be. Unlike
> AlwaysRefCounted, this mechanism expects the reference to be unique
> within Rust, and does not allow cloning.
>
> Conceptually, this is similar to a KBox<T>, except that it delegates
> resource management to the T instead of using a generic allocator.
>
> Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/20250202-rust-page-v1-1-e3170d7fe55e@xxxxxxxxxxxxx/
> Signed-off-by: Asahi Lina <lina@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Co-developed-by: Oliver Mangold <oliver.mangold@xxxxx>
> Signed-off-by: Oliver Mangold <oliver.mangold@xxxxx>
> ---
> rust/kernel/types.rs | 109 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> 1 file changed, 109 insertions(+)
>
> diff --git a/rust/kernel/types.rs b/rust/kernel/types.rs
> index 55ddd50e8aaa075ac33d5f1088a7f72df05f74f4..e0ce3646a4d3b70c069322a9b0f25c00265a2af8 100644
> --- a/rust/kernel/types.rs
> +++ b/rust/kernel/types.rs
> @@ -551,6 +551,115 @@ fn drop(&mut self) {
> }
> }
>
> +/// Types that may be owned by Rust code or borrowed, but have a lifetime managed by C code.
> +///
> +/// It allows such types to define their own custom destructor function to be called when
> +/// a Rust-owned reference is dropped.
> +///
> +/// This is usually implemented by wrappers to existing structures on the C side of the code.
> +///
> +/// # Safety
> +///
> +/// Implementers must ensure that any objects borrowed directly as `&T` stay alive for the duration
> +/// of the lifetime, and that any objects owned by Rust as `Owned<T>`) stay alive while that owned

Missing an open parenthesis?

> +/// reference exists, until the [`Ownable::release()`] trait method is called.
> +pub unsafe trait Ownable {
> + /// Releases the object (frees it or returns it to foreign ownership).
> + ///
> + /// # Safety
> + ///
> + /// Callers must ensure that the object is no longer referenced after this call.
> + unsafe fn release(this: NonNull<Self>);
> +}
> +
> +/// A subtrait of Ownable that asserts that an `Owned<T>` Rust reference is not only unique
> +/// within Rust and keeps the `T` alive, but also guarantees that the C code follows the
> +/// usual mutable reference requirements. That is, the kernel will never mutate the
> +/// `T` (excluding internal mutability that follows the usual rules) while Rust owns it.
> +///
> +/// When this type is implemented for an [`Ownable`] type, it allows `Owned<T>` to be
> +/// dereferenced into a &mut T.
> +///
> +/// # Safety
> +///
> +/// Implementers must ensure that the kernel never mutates the underlying type while
> +/// Rust owns it.
> +pub unsafe trait OwnableMut: Ownable {}
> +
> +/// An owned reference to an ownable kernel object.
> +///
> +/// The object is automatically freed or released when an instance of [`Owned`] is
> +/// dropped.
> +///
> +/// # Invariants
> +///
> +/// The pointer stored in `ptr` is non-null and valid for the lifetime of the [`Owned`] instance.
> +pub struct Owned<T: Ownable> {
> + ptr: NonNull<T>,
> + _p: PhantomData<T>,
> +}
> +
> +// SAFETY: It is safe to send `Owned<T>` to another thread when the underlying `T` is `Send` because
> +// it effectively means sending a unique `&mut T` pointer (which is safe because `T` is `Send`).
> +unsafe impl<T: Ownable + Send> Send for Owned<T> {}
> +
> +// SAFETY: It is safe to send `&Owned<T>` to another thread when the underlying `T` is `Sync`
> +// because it effectively means sharing `&T` (which is safe because `T` is `Sync`).
> +unsafe impl<T: Ownable + Sync> Sync for Owned<T> {}
> +
> +impl<T: Ownable> Owned<T> {
> + /// Creates a new instance of [`Owned`].
> + ///
> + /// It takes over ownership of the underlying object.
> + ///
> + /// # Safety
> + ///
> + /// Callers must ensure that the underlying object is acquired and can be considered owned by
> + /// Rust.
> + pub unsafe fn from_raw(ptr: NonNull<T>) -> Self {
> + // INVARIANT: The safety requirements guarantee that the new instance now owns the
> + // reference.
> + Self {
> + ptr,
> + _p: PhantomData,
> + }
> + }
> +
> + /// Consumes the `Owned`, returning a raw pointer.
> + ///
> + /// This function does not actually relinquish ownership of the object.
> + /// After calling this function, the caller is responsible for ownership previously managed
> + /// by the `Owned`.
> + pub fn into_raw(me: Self) -> NonNull<T> {
> + ManuallyDrop::new(me).ptr
> + }
> +}
> +
> +impl<T: Ownable> Deref for Owned<T> {
> + type Target = T;
> +
> + fn deref(&self) -> &Self::Target {
> + // SAFETY: The type invariants guarantee that the object is valid.
> + unsafe { self.ptr.as_ref() }
> + }
> +}
> +
> +impl<T: Ownable + OwnableMut> DerefMut for Owned<T> {

Given OwnableMut is a sub-trait of Ownable, do you still need the
"Ownable + " here?

Regards,
Boqun

> + fn deref_mut(&mut self) -> &mut Self::Target {
> + // SAFETY: The type invariants guarantee that the object is valid,
> + // and that we can safely return a mutable reference to it.
> + unsafe { self.ptr.as_mut() }
> + }
> +}
> +
> +impl<T: Ownable> Drop for Owned<T> {
> + fn drop(&mut self) {
> + // SAFETY: The type invariants guarantee that the `Owned` owns the object we're about to
> + // release.
> + unsafe { T::release(self.ptr) };
> + }
> +}
> +
> /// A sum type that always holds either a value of type `L` or `R`.
> ///
> /// # Examples
>
> --
> 2.48.1
>
>