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kernel/sync/
aref.rs

1// SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
2
3//! Internal reference counting support.
4//!
5//! Many C types already have their own reference counting mechanism (e.g. by storing a
6//! `refcount_t`). This module provides support for directly using their internal reference count
7//! from Rust; instead of making users have to use an additional Rust-reference count in the form of
8//! [`Arc`].
9//!
10//! The smart pointer [`ARef<T>`] acts similarly to [`Arc<T>`] in that it holds a refcount on the
11//! underlying object, but this refcount is internal to the object. It essentially is a Rust
12//! implementation of the `get_` and `put_` pattern used in C for reference counting.
13//!
14//! To make use of [`ARef<MyType>`], `MyType` needs to implement [`AlwaysRefCounted`]. It is a trait
15//! for accessing the internal reference count of an object of the `MyType` type.
16//!
17//! [`Arc`]: crate::sync::Arc
18//! [`Arc<T>`]: crate::sync::Arc
19
20use core::{
21    marker::PhantomData,
22    mem::ManuallyDrop,
23    ops::Deref,
24    ptr::NonNull, //
25};
26
27/// Types that are _always_ reference counted.
28///
29/// It allows such types to define their own custom ref increment and decrement functions.
30/// Additionally, it allows users to convert from a shared reference `&T` to an owned reference
31/// [`ARef<T>`].
32///
33/// This is usually implemented by wrappers to existing structures on the C side of the code. For
34/// Rust code, the recommendation is to use [`Arc`](crate::sync::Arc) to create reference-counted
35/// instances of a type.
36///
37/// # Safety
38///
39/// Implementers must ensure that increments to the reference count keep the object alive in memory
40/// at least until matching decrements are performed.
41///
42/// Implementers must also ensure that all instances are reference-counted. (Otherwise they
43/// won't be able to honour the requirement that [`AlwaysRefCounted::inc_ref`] keep the object
44/// alive.)
45pub unsafe trait AlwaysRefCounted {
46    /// Increments the reference count on the object.
47    fn inc_ref(&self);
48
49    /// Decrements the reference count on the object.
50    ///
51    /// Frees the object when the count reaches zero.
52    ///
53    /// # Safety
54    ///
55    /// Callers must ensure that there was a previous matching increment to the reference count,
56    /// and that the object is no longer used after its reference count is decremented (as it may
57    /// result in the object being freed), unless the caller owns another increment on the refcount
58    /// (e.g., it calls [`AlwaysRefCounted::inc_ref`] twice, then calls
59    /// [`AlwaysRefCounted::dec_ref`] once).
60    unsafe fn dec_ref(obj: NonNull<Self>);
61}
62
63/// An owned reference to an always-reference-counted object.
64///
65/// The object's reference count is automatically decremented when an instance of [`ARef`] is
66/// dropped. It is also automatically incremented when a new instance is created via
67/// [`ARef::clone`].
68///
69/// # Invariants
70///
71/// The pointer stored in `ptr` is non-null and valid for the lifetime of the [`ARef`] instance. In
72/// particular, the [`ARef`] instance owns an increment on the underlying object's reference count.
73pub struct ARef<T: AlwaysRefCounted> {
74    ptr: NonNull<T>,
75    _p: PhantomData<T>,
76}
77
78// SAFETY: It is safe to send `ARef<T>` to another thread when the underlying `T` is `Sync` because
79// it effectively means sharing `&T` (which is safe because `T` is `Sync`); additionally, it needs
80// `T` to be `Send` because any thread that has an `ARef<T>` may ultimately access `T` using a
81// mutable reference, for example, when the reference count reaches zero and `T` is dropped.
82unsafe impl<T: AlwaysRefCounted + Sync + Send> Send for ARef<T> {}
83
84// SAFETY: It is safe to send `&ARef<T>` to another thread when the underlying `T` is `Sync`
85// because it effectively means sharing `&T` (which is safe because `T` is `Sync`); additionally,
86// it needs `T` to be `Send` because any thread that has a `&ARef<T>` may clone it and get an
87// `ARef<T>` on that thread, so the thread may ultimately access `T` using a mutable reference, for
88// example, when the reference count reaches zero and `T` is dropped.
89unsafe impl<T: AlwaysRefCounted + Sync + Send> Sync for ARef<T> {}
90
91// Even if `T` is pinned, pointers to `T` can still move.
92impl<T: AlwaysRefCounted> Unpin for ARef<T> {}
93
94impl<T: AlwaysRefCounted> ARef<T> {
95    /// Creates a new instance of [`ARef`].
96    ///
97    /// It takes over an increment of the reference count on the underlying object.
98    ///
99    /// # Safety
100    ///
101    /// Callers must ensure that the reference count was incremented at least once, and that they
102    /// are properly relinquishing one increment. That is, if there is only one increment, callers
103    /// must not use the underlying object anymore -- it is only safe to do so via the newly
104    /// created [`ARef`].
105    pub unsafe fn from_raw(ptr: NonNull<T>) -> Self {
106        // INVARIANT: The safety requirements guarantee that the new instance now owns the
107        // increment on the refcount.
108        Self {
109            ptr,
110            _p: PhantomData,
111        }
112    }
113
114    /// Consumes the `ARef`, returning a raw pointer.
115    ///
116    /// This function does not change the refcount. After calling this function, the caller is
117    /// responsible for the refcount previously managed by the `ARef`.
118    ///
119    /// # Examples
120    ///
121    /// ```
122    /// use core::ptr::NonNull;
123    /// use kernel::sync::aref::{ARef, AlwaysRefCounted};
124    ///
125    /// struct Empty {}
126    ///
127    /// # // SAFETY: TODO.
128    /// unsafe impl AlwaysRefCounted for Empty {
129    ///     fn inc_ref(&self) {}
130    ///     unsafe fn dec_ref(_obj: NonNull<Self>) {}
131    /// }
132    ///
133    /// let mut data = Empty {};
134    /// let ptr = NonNull::<Empty>::new(&mut data).unwrap();
135    /// # // SAFETY: TODO.
136    /// let data_ref: ARef<Empty> = unsafe { ARef::from_raw(ptr) };
137    /// let raw_ptr: NonNull<Empty> = ARef::into_raw(data_ref);
138    ///
139    /// assert_eq!(ptr, raw_ptr);
140    /// ```
141    pub fn into_raw(me: Self) -> NonNull<T> {
142        ManuallyDrop::new(me).ptr
143    }
144}
145
146impl<T: AlwaysRefCounted> Clone for ARef<T> {
147    fn clone(&self) -> Self {
148        self.inc_ref();
149        // SAFETY: We just incremented the refcount above.
150        unsafe { Self::from_raw(self.ptr) }
151    }
152}
153
154impl<T: AlwaysRefCounted> Deref for ARef<T> {
155    type Target = T;
156
157    fn deref(&self) -> &Self::Target {
158        // SAFETY: The type invariants guarantee that the object is valid.
159        unsafe { self.ptr.as_ref() }
160    }
161}
162
163impl<T: AlwaysRefCounted> From<&T> for ARef<T> {
164    fn from(b: &T) -> Self {
165        b.inc_ref();
166        // SAFETY: We just incremented the refcount above.
167        unsafe { Self::from_raw(NonNull::from(b)) }
168    }
169}
170
171impl<T: AlwaysRefCounted> Drop for ARef<T> {
172    fn drop(&mut self) {
173        // SAFETY: The type invariants guarantee that the `ARef` owns the reference we're about to
174        // decrement.
175        unsafe { T::dec_ref(self.ptr) };
176    }
177}
178
179impl<T, U> PartialEq<ARef<U>> for ARef<T>
180where
181    T: AlwaysRefCounted + PartialEq<U>,
182    U: AlwaysRefCounted,
183{
184    #[inline]
185    fn eq(&self, other: &ARef<U>) -> bool {
186        T::eq(&**self, &**other)
187    }
188}
189impl<T: AlwaysRefCounted + Eq> Eq for ARef<T> {}
190
191impl<T, U> PartialEq<&'_ U> for ARef<T>
192where
193    T: AlwaysRefCounted + PartialEq<U>,
194{
195    #[inline]
196    fn eq(&self, other: &&U) -> bool {
197        T::eq(&**self, other)
198    }
199}