[jira] [Created] (THRIFT-3038) Use of volatile in cpp library

["Adriaan Schmidt (JIRA)" <ji...@apache.org>]

Adriaan Schmidt created THRIFT-3038:
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             Summary: Use of volatile in cpp library
                 Key: THRIFT-3038
                 URL: https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/THRIFT-3038
             Project: Thrift
          Issue Type: Bug
          Components: C++ - Library
            Reporter: Adriaan Schmidt


In the cpp library there are several member variables which are declared volatile, I believe with the intention of providing some sort of thread-safety. 
While volatile can be used in this way in Java and C#, in C++ it cannot! It does not provide any guarantees with regard to instruction (re-)ordering, i.e. there are no implied memory barriers like you would get by using explicit locking or atomic variables.
This means that all uses of volatile should be examined, the volatile qualifier should be removed and replaced by proper synchronization.

The affected member variables are:

# NoStarveReadWriteMutex::writerWaiting_
Unprotected read access in acquireRead(). Data race can be seen by running the unit test with Helgrind.
# TFileTransport::forceFlush_
Always accessed while holding mutex_. In this case, the volatile can just be removed.
# TFileTransport::closing_
Sometimes accessed while holding mutex_ (in combination with the notEmpty_ Monitor),
but, e.g., enqueueEvent reads closing_ without any synchronization.
# TThreadPoolServer::stop_, TThreadedServer::stop_
Accessed (read and written) without synchronization. These would probably be fine using an atomic data type. Or, use explicit locking or signaling. 
# TThreadPoolServer::timeout_, TThreadPoolServer::taskExpiration_
Should probably use a lock.
# Mutex.cpp has mutexProfilingCounter as static variable. This probably doesn’t break anything, but still the volatile serves no real purpose.

While some of the fixes are probably simple, in general I think someone with better knowledge of the code should have a look at this.



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