Proposal: Add atomic IORef operations to Data.IORef

GHC.IORef currently exports atomicModifyIORef2 :: IORef a -> (a -> (a,b)) -> IO (a, (a, b)) atomicSwapIORef :: IORef a -> a -> IO a atomicModifyIORef2 is a lot like atomicModifyIORef, but it returns both the old value in the IORef and the full result of applying the user-supplied function to that. This is a pretty thin wrapper around the newish atomicModifyMutVar2# primop, which has replaced the less powerful atomicModifyMutVar#. atomicSwapIORef atomically installs a user-supplied value in an IORef and returns the old value. It is currently implemented using atomicModifyIORef2, but it can and should be reimplemented using its own, more efficient primop. I propose to add both of these functions to Data.IORef. David

+1 with sufficient documentation
On Fri, Jan 15, 2021, 14:06 David Feuer
GHC.IORef currently exports
atomicModifyIORef2 :: IORef a -> (a -> (a,b)) -> IO (a, (a, b)) atomicSwapIORef :: IORef a -> a -> IO a
atomicModifyIORef2 is a lot like atomicModifyIORef, but it returns both the old value in the IORef and the full result of applying the user-supplied function to that. This is a pretty thin wrapper around the newish atomicModifyMutVar2# primop, which has replaced the less powerful atomicModifyMutVar#.
atomicSwapIORef atomically installs a user-supplied value in an IORef and returns the old value. It is currently implemented using atomicModifyIORef2, but it can and should be reimplemented using its own, more efficient primop.
I propose to add both of these functions to Data.IORef.
David _______________________________________________ Libraries mailing list Libraries@haskell.org http://mail.haskell.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/libraries

Both of these functions are lazy with respect to the new value being written into the IORef, which is a horrible default for atomic operations. That is why atomicModifyIORef is a source of memory leaks and terrible performance, which is also why atomicModifyIORef' is almost always used instead.
So +1 from me on adding strict versions of these functions that force new value to whnf, but -1 for adding these lazy versions as they are currently defined in GHC.IORef
Alexey.
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
On Friday, January 15, 2021 11:05 PM, David Feuer
GHC.IORef currently exports
atomicModifyIORef2 :: IORef a -> (a -> (a,b)) -> IO (a, (a, b)) atomicSwapIORef :: IORef a -> a -> IO a
atomicModifyIORef2 is a lot like atomicModifyIORef, but it returns both the old value in the IORef and the full result of applying the user-supplied function to that. This is a pretty thin wrapper around the newish atomicModifyMutVar2# primop, which has replaced the less powerful atomicModifyMutVar#.
atomicSwapIORef atomically installs a user-supplied value in an IORef and returns the old value. It is currently implemented using atomicModifyIORef2, but it can and should be reimplemented using its own, more efficient primop.
I propose to add both of these functions to Data.IORef.
David
Libraries mailing list Libraries@haskell.org http://mail.haskell.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/libraries

I disagree. I believe we should offer both atomicModifyIORef2 and an
atomicModifyIORef2'. The latter should force the new value in the
IORef but, unlike atomicModifyIORef', should not force the returned
value. Or if you and others prefer, we could offer a strict
atomicModifyIORef and a lazy atomicModifyIORef2Lazy. As a Haskell
programmer, I really don't want totally polymorphic values getting
forced behind my back. It's actually possible to write an even lazier
version that doesn't even force the function result pair, but I don't
think that's a very useful idea.
One other thing: the natural approach to atomicModifyIORef2' uses a
"half-strict pair" type
data HSPair a b = HSPair !a b
atomicModifyIORef2' :: IORef a -> (a -> HSPair a b) -> IO (a, HSPair a b)
I don't know to what extent users are willing to tolerate such an
extra datatype.
Side note: the peculiarly strict behavior of atomicModifyIORef' is a
result of the poor design of the old atomicModifyMutVar# primop.
On Fri, Jan 15, 2021 at 3:19 PM Alexey Kuleshevich
Both of these functions are lazy with respect to the new value being written into the IORef, which is a horrible default for atomic operations. That is why atomicModifyIORef is a source of memory leaks and terrible performance, which is also why atomicModifyIORef' is almost always used instead.
So +1 from me on adding strict versions of these functions that force new value to whnf, but -1 for adding these lazy versions as they are currently defined in GHC.IORef
Alexey.
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ On Friday, January 15, 2021 11:05 PM, David Feuer
wrote: GHC.IORef currently exports
atomicModifyIORef2 :: IORef a -> (a -> (a,b)) -> IO (a, (a, b)) atomicSwapIORef :: IORef a -> a -> IO a
atomicModifyIORef2 is a lot like atomicModifyIORef, but it returns both the old value in the IORef and the full result of applying the user-supplied function to that. This is a pretty thin wrapper around the newish atomicModifyMutVar2# primop, which has replaced the less powerful atomicModifyMutVar#.
atomicSwapIORef atomically installs a user-supplied value in an IORef and returns the old value. It is currently implemented using atomicModifyIORef2, but it can and should be reimplemented using its own, more efficient primop.
I propose to add both of these functions to Data.IORef.
David
Libraries mailing list Libraries@haskell.org http://mail.haskell.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/libraries

I totally agree with everything that you just said. Sorry, I should have said originally "-1 for adding JUST these lazy versions". As long as there are strict versions (whatever the names they might get, IMHO Lazy suffix is nice) and a warning on lazy versions about leaking memory, then I am 100% on board as well. Also +1 on not forcing the result.
Alexey.
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
On Friday, January 15, 2021 11:29 PM, David Feuer
I disagree. I believe we should offer both atomicModifyIORef2 and an atomicModifyIORef2'. The latter should force the new value in the IORef but, unlike atomicModifyIORef', should not force the returned value. Or if you and others prefer, we could offer a strict atomicModifyIORef and a lazy atomicModifyIORef2Lazy. As a Haskell programmer, I really don't want totally polymorphic values getting forced behind my back. It's actually possible to write an even lazier version that doesn't even force the function result pair, but I don't think that's a very useful idea.
One other thing: the natural approach to atomicModifyIORef2' uses a "half-strict pair" type
data HSPair a b = HSPair !a b atomicModifyIORef2' :: IORef a -> (a -> HSPair a b) -> IO (a, HSPair a b)
I don't know to what extent users are willing to tolerate such an extra datatype.
Side note: the peculiarly strict behavior of atomicModifyIORef' is a result of the poor design of the old atomicModifyMutVar# primop.
On Fri, Jan 15, 2021 at 3:19 PM Alexey Kuleshevich alexey@kuleshevi.ch wrote:
Both of these functions are lazy with respect to the new value being written into the IORef, which is a horrible default for atomic operations. That is why atomicModifyIORef is a source of memory leaks and terrible performance, which is also why atomicModifyIORef' is almost always used instead. So +1 from me on adding strict versions of these functions that force new value to whnf, but -1 for adding these lazy versions as they are currently defined in GHC.IORef Alexey. ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ On Friday, January 15, 2021 11:05 PM, David Feuer david.feuer@gmail.com wrote:
GHC.IORef currently exports atomicModifyIORef2 :: IORef a -> (a -> (a,b)) -> IO (a, (a, b)) atomicSwapIORef :: IORef a -> a -> IO a atomicModifyIORef2 is a lot like atomicModifyIORef, but it returns both the old value in the IORef and the full result of applying the user-supplied function to that. This is a pretty thin wrapper around the newish atomicModifyMutVar2# primop, which has replaced the less powerful atomicModifyMutVar#. atomicSwapIORef atomically installs a user-supplied value in an IORef and returns the old value. It is currently implemented using atomicModifyIORef2, but it can and should be reimplemented using its own, more efficient primop. I propose to add both of these functions to Data.IORef. David Libraries mailing list Libraries@haskell.org http://mail.haskell.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/libraries

Cool. Do you also want a strict atomicSwapIORef'?
On Fri, Jan 15, 2021 at 3:38 PM Alexey Kuleshevich
I totally agree with everything that you just said. Sorry, I should have said originally "-1 for adding JUST these lazy versions". As long as there are strict versions (whatever the names they might get, IMHO Lazy suffix is nice) and a warning on lazy versions about leaking memory, then I am 100% on board as well. Also +1 on not forcing the result.
Alexey.
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ On Friday, January 15, 2021 11:29 PM, David Feuer
wrote: I disagree. I believe we should offer both atomicModifyIORef2 and an atomicModifyIORef2'. The latter should force the new value in the IORef but, unlike atomicModifyIORef', should not force the returned value. Or if you and others prefer, we could offer a strict atomicModifyIORef and a lazy atomicModifyIORef2Lazy. As a Haskell programmer, I really don't want totally polymorphic values getting forced behind my back. It's actually possible to write an even lazier version that doesn't even force the function result pair, but I don't think that's a very useful idea.
One other thing: the natural approach to atomicModifyIORef2' uses a "half-strict pair" type
data HSPair a b = HSPair !a b atomicModifyIORef2' :: IORef a -> (a -> HSPair a b) -> IO (a, HSPair a b)
I don't know to what extent users are willing to tolerate such an extra datatype.
Side note: the peculiarly strict behavior of atomicModifyIORef' is a result of the poor design of the old atomicModifyMutVar# primop.
On Fri, Jan 15, 2021 at 3:19 PM Alexey Kuleshevich alexey@kuleshevi.ch wrote:
Both of these functions are lazy with respect to the new value being written into the IORef, which is a horrible default for atomic operations. That is why atomicModifyIORef is a source of memory leaks and terrible performance, which is also why atomicModifyIORef' is almost always used instead. So +1 from me on adding strict versions of these functions that force new value to whnf, but -1 for adding these lazy versions as they are currently defined in GHC.IORef Alexey. ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ On Friday, January 15, 2021 11:05 PM, David Feuer david.feuer@gmail.com wrote:
GHC.IORef currently exports atomicModifyIORef2 :: IORef a -> (a -> (a,b)) -> IO (a, (a, b)) atomicSwapIORef :: IORef a -> a -> IO a atomicModifyIORef2 is a lot like atomicModifyIORef, but it returns both the old value in the IORef and the full result of applying the user-supplied function to that. This is a pretty thin wrapper around the newish atomicModifyMutVar2# primop, which has replaced the less powerful atomicModifyMutVar#. atomicSwapIORef atomically installs a user-supplied value in an IORef and returns the old value. It is currently implemented using atomicModifyIORef2, but it can and should be reimplemented using its own, more efficient primop. I propose to add both of these functions to Data.IORef. David Libraries mailing list Libraries@haskell.org http://mail.haskell.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/libraries

Despite that this one is easy `atomicSwapIORef' ref !a = atomicSwapIORef ref a` I think it is important to include it. I also think `atomicWriteIORef'` should be added as well. Point is that most of the time in a concurrent setup it is the thread that does the IORef modification should be responsible for computing the value that is being written. This is important not only for performance but also for error handling.
Alexey.
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
On Saturday, January 16, 2021 12:01 AM, David Feuer
Cool. Do you also want a strict atomicSwapIORef'?
On Fri, Jan 15, 2021 at 3:38 PM Alexey Kuleshevich alexey@kuleshevi.ch wrote:
I totally agree with everything that you just said. Sorry, I should have said originally "-1 for adding JUST these lazy versions". As long as there are strict versions (whatever the names they might get, IMHO Lazy suffix is nice) and a warning on lazy versions about leaking memory, then I am 100% on board as well. Also +1 on not forcing the result. Alexey. ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ On Friday, January 15, 2021 11:29 PM, David Feuer david.feuer@gmail.com wrote:
I disagree. I believe we should offer both atomicModifyIORef2 and an atomicModifyIORef2'. The latter should force the new value in the IORef but, unlike atomicModifyIORef', should not force the returned value. Or if you and others prefer, we could offer a strict atomicModifyIORef and a lazy atomicModifyIORef2Lazy. As a Haskell programmer, I really don't want totally polymorphic values getting forced behind my back. It's actually possible to write an even lazier version that doesn't even force the function result pair, but I don't think that's a very useful idea. One other thing: the natural approach to atomicModifyIORef2' uses a "half-strict pair" type data HSPair a b = HSPair !a b atomicModifyIORef2' :: IORef a -> (a -> HSPair a b) -> IO (a, HSPair a b) I don't know to what extent users are willing to tolerate such an extra datatype. Side note: the peculiarly strict behavior of atomicModifyIORef' is a result of the poor design of the old atomicModifyMutVar# primop. On Fri, Jan 15, 2021 at 3:19 PM Alexey Kuleshevich alexey@kuleshevi.ch wrote:
Both of these functions are lazy with respect to the new value being written into the IORef, which is a horrible default for atomic operations. That is why atomicModifyIORef is a source of memory leaks and terrible performance, which is also why atomicModifyIORef' is almost always used instead. So +1 from me on adding strict versions of these functions that force new value to whnf, but -1 for adding these lazy versions as they are currently defined in GHC.IORef Alexey. ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ On Friday, January 15, 2021 11:05 PM, David Feuer david.feuer@gmail.com wrote:
GHC.IORef currently exports atomicModifyIORef2 :: IORef a -> (a -> (a,b)) -> IO (a, (a, b)) atomicSwapIORef :: IORef a -> a -> IO a atomicModifyIORef2 is a lot like atomicModifyIORef, but it returns both the old value in the IORef and the full result of applying the user-supplied function to that. This is a pretty thin wrapper around the newish atomicModifyMutVar2# primop, which has replaced the less powerful atomicModifyMutVar#. atomicSwapIORef atomically installs a user-supplied value in an IORef and returns the old value. It is currently implemented using atomicModifyIORef2, but it can and should be reimplemented using its own, more efficient primop. I propose to add both of these functions to Data.IORef. David Libraries mailing list Libraries@haskell.org http://mail.haskell.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/libraries

The error handling situation for modification operations is somewhat
deceptive. Unlike MVar operations, where the modifying thread can be fully
responsible for exceptions, a thread can *try* to force the modified IORef
value, but it may *actually* be forced by another thread if that thread
gets there first. Someone using atomicModifyIORef2' should be very careful
not to produce bottom as the new IORef value. Similarly, they must not use
unsafePerformIO to produce the result if the IO in question must be
performed in a particular thread.
On Fri, Jan 15, 2021, 4:13 PM Alexey Kuleshevich
Despite that this one is easy `atomicSwapIORef' ref !a = atomicSwapIORef ref a` I think it is important to include it. I also think `atomicWriteIORef'` should be added as well. Point is that most of the time in a concurrent setup it is the thread that does the IORef modification should be responsible for computing the value that is being written. This is important not only for performance but also for error handling.
Alexey.
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ On Saturday, January 16, 2021 12:01 AM, David Feuer
wrote: Cool. Do you also want a strict atomicSwapIORef'?
On Fri, Jan 15, 2021 at 3:38 PM Alexey Kuleshevich alexey@kuleshevi.ch wrote:
I totally agree with everything that you just said. Sorry, I should have said originally "-1 for adding JUST these lazy versions". As long as there are strict versions (whatever the names they might get, IMHO Lazy suffix is nice) and a warning on lazy versions about leaking memory, then I am 100% on board as well. Also +1 on not forcing the result. Alexey. ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ On Friday, January 15, 2021 11:29 PM, David Feuer david.feuer@gmail.com wrote:
I disagree. I believe we should offer both atomicModifyIORef2 and an atomicModifyIORef2'. The latter should force the new value in the IORef but, unlike atomicModifyIORef', should not force the returned value. Or if you and others prefer, we could offer a strict atomicModifyIORef and a lazy atomicModifyIORef2Lazy. As a Haskell programmer, I really don't want totally polymorphic values getting forced behind my back. It's actually possible to write an even lazier version that doesn't even force the function result pair, but I don't think that's a very useful idea. One other thing: the natural approach to atomicModifyIORef2' uses a "half-strict pair" type data HSPair a b = HSPair !a b atomicModifyIORef2' :: IORef a -> (a -> HSPair a b) -> IO (a, HSPair a b) I don't know to what extent users are willing to tolerate such an extra datatype. Side note: the peculiarly strict behavior of atomicModifyIORef' is a result of the poor design of the old atomicModifyMutVar# primop. On Fri, Jan 15, 2021 at 3:19 PM Alexey Kuleshevich alexey@kuleshevi.ch wrote:
Both of these functions are lazy with respect to the new value being written into the IORef, which is a horrible default for atomic operations. That is why atomicModifyIORef is a source of memory leaks and terrible performance, which is also why atomicModifyIORef' is almost always used instead. So +1 from me on adding strict versions of these functions that force new value to whnf, but -1 for adding these lazy versions as they are currently defined in GHC.IORef Alexey. ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ On Friday, January 15, 2021 11:05 PM, David Feuer david.feuer@gmail.com wrote:
GHC.IORef currently exports atomicModifyIORef2 :: IORef a -> (a -> (a,b)) -> IO (a, (a, b)) atomicSwapIORef :: IORef a -> a -> IO a atomicModifyIORef2 is a lot like atomicModifyIORef, but it returns both the old value in the IORef and the full result of applying the user-supplied function to that. This is a pretty thin wrapper around the newish atomicModifyMutVar2# primop, which has replaced the less powerful atomicModifyMutVar#. atomicSwapIORef atomically installs a user-supplied value in an IORef and returns the old value. It is currently implemented using atomicModifyIORef2, but it can and should be reimplemented using its own, more efficient primop. I propose to add both of these functions to Data.IORef. David Libraries mailing list Libraries@haskell.org http://mail.haskell.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/libraries

+1 for inclusion of these
On Sat, 16 Jan 2021 at 07:25, David Feuer
The error handling situation for modification operations is somewhat deceptive. Unlike MVar operations, where the modifying thread can be fully responsible for exceptions, a thread can *try* to force the modified IORef value, but it may *actually* be forced by another thread if that thread gets there first. Someone using atomicModifyIORef2' should be very careful not to produce bottom as the new IORef value. Similarly, they must not use unsafePerformIO to produce the result if the IO in question must be performed in a particular thread.
On Fri, Jan 15, 2021, 4:13 PM Alexey Kuleshevich
wrote: Despite that this one is easy `atomicSwapIORef' ref !a = atomicSwapIORef ref a` I think it is important to include it. I also think `atomicWriteIORef'` should be added as well. Point is that most of the time in a concurrent setup it is the thread that does the IORef modification should be responsible for computing the value that is being written. This is important not only for performance but also for error handling.
Alexey.
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ On Saturday, January 16, 2021 12:01 AM, David Feuer
wrote: Cool. Do you also want a strict atomicSwapIORef'?
On Fri, Jan 15, 2021 at 3:38 PM Alexey Kuleshevich alexey@kuleshevi.ch wrote:
I totally agree with everything that you just said. Sorry, I should have said originally "-1 for adding JUST these lazy versions". As long as there are strict versions (whatever the names they might get, IMHO Lazy suffix is nice) and a warning on lazy versions about leaking memory, then I am 100% on board as well. Also +1 on not forcing the result. Alexey. ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ On Friday, January 15, 2021 11:29 PM, David Feuer david.feuer@gmail.com wrote:
I disagree. I believe we should offer both atomicModifyIORef2 and an atomicModifyIORef2'. The latter should force the new value in the IORef but, unlike atomicModifyIORef', should not force the returned value. Or if you and others prefer, we could offer a strict atomicModifyIORef and a lazy atomicModifyIORef2Lazy. As a Haskell programmer, I really don't want totally polymorphic values getting forced behind my back. It's actually possible to write an even lazier version that doesn't even force the function result pair, but I don't think that's a very useful idea. One other thing: the natural approach to atomicModifyIORef2' uses a "half-strict pair" type data HSPair a b = HSPair !a b atomicModifyIORef2' :: IORef a -> (a -> HSPair a b) -> IO (a, HSPair a b) I don't know to what extent users are willing to tolerate such an extra datatype. Side note: the peculiarly strict behavior of atomicModifyIORef' is a result of the poor design of the old atomicModifyMutVar# primop. On Fri, Jan 15, 2021 at 3:19 PM Alexey Kuleshevich alexey@kuleshevi.ch wrote:
Both of these functions are lazy with respect to the new value being written into the IORef, which is a horrible default for atomic operations. That is why atomicModifyIORef is a source of memory leaks and terrible performance, which is also why atomicModifyIORef' is almost always used instead. So +1 from me on adding strict versions of these functions that force new value to whnf, but -1 for adding these lazy versions as they are currently defined in GHC.IORef Alexey. ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ On Friday, January 15, 2021 11:05 PM, David Feuer david.feuer@gmail.com wrote:
> GHC.IORef currently exports > atomicModifyIORef2 :: IORef a -> (a -> (a,b)) -> IO (a, (a, b)) > atomicSwapIORef :: IORef a -> a -> IO a > atomicModifyIORef2 is a lot like atomicModifyIORef, but it returns > both the old value in the IORef and the full result of applying the > user-supplied function to that. This is a pretty thin wrapper around > the newish atomicModifyMutVar2# primop, which has replaced the less > powerful atomicModifyMutVar#. > atomicSwapIORef atomically installs a user-supplied value in an IORef > and returns the old value. It is currently implemented using > atomicModifyIORef2, but it can and should be reimplemented using its > own, more efficient primop. > I propose to add both of these functions to Data.IORef. > David > Libraries mailing list > Libraries@haskell.org > http://mail.haskell.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/libraries
_______________________________________________ Libraries mailing list Libraries@haskell.org http://mail.haskell.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/libraries
participants (4)
-
Alexey Kuleshevich
-
chessai
-
David Feuer
-
George Wilson