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Bug #3377

open

Reading Wt::Dbo::ptr concurrently

Added by Saif Rehman almost 10 years ago. Updated almost 10 years ago.

Status:
Feedback
Priority:
Normal
Assignee:
-
Target version:
-
Start date:
06/24/2014
Due date:
% Done:

0%

Estimated time:

Description

Creating a copy of the same Wt::Dbo::ptr concurrently(using copy constructor) causes an unhandled exception

http://redmine.webtoolkit.eu/boards/2/topics/9254

Actions #1

Updated by Koen Deforche almost 10 years ago

  • Status changed from New to Feedback

Hey,

A Wt::Dbo::Session (and all associated Wt::Dbo::ptr's) is not thread-safe. If you share one then you need to make sure you lock properly.

Regards,

koen

Actions #2

Updated by Saif Rehman almost 10 years ago

I use a read/write lock. And the problem is occurring on reading the same ptr concurrently(but different Wt::Dbo::ptr object).

Most smart pointers are safe to read concurrently, do they implement locking or their algorithm is thread safe? Is there a way to fix this problem without switching to using simple locks on both read and write functions.

If Wt::Dbo::Session is causing the problem, would disconnecting the ptr from the session as we discussed in an old issue fix this issue? I'll try and let you know.

Actions #3

Updated by Koen Deforche almost 10 years ago

Hey,

If you have two pointers referencing the same object from a single session, then it's not safe to manipulate (read or write) those pointers from two threads concurrently. A read operation may trigger the loading of the object for example, while a write operation needs to mark it as dirty. Those operations access the session object.

The thread-safety model of Wt::Dbo is plain simple: you cannot share a session or any of its associated pointers.

If you find that restrictive than just think of how transactions would be handled if you tried to do that? There's a semantic reason why thread-safe dbo pointers do not make sense (in contrast to std::shared_ptr which is actually useful in multi-threaded environments).

If you can uncouple the ptr from the session, then there is no longer a big risk, but nevertheless it would still be unsafe since we need to make sure concurrent modifications to the ptr (meta-)data does not break things.

Actions #4

Updated by Saif Rehman almost 10 years ago

I really appreciate your reply, however, I wasn't clear. I have the following aspects in a database that stores Wt::Dbo::ptr in a map:

  • All write functions will grab boost::lock_guardboost::shared_mutex lock(mutex) which will prevent any concurrency problem while writing
  • All the Wt::Dbo::ptrs are fully loaded(there will be no lazy loading) and it is assumed that no database backend lookup function will be called
  • No data will be modified inside any Wt::Dbo::ptr(I would use Wt::Dbo::ptr when available) from outside the database
  • All read functions(ptr getter functions) will grab a shared read lock

So I know that from outside the database, no write/modification/Dbo::Session function can be called. The Wt::Dbo::ptrs are used to share data between sessions to prevent unnecessary copying of data.

If I switch to a simple exclusive ownership lock, it would potentially solve the problem with concurrent calls to getter functions, however, the problem would still be there since the copy constructor(take and release functions) are thread unsafe.

Can you please suggest how can I make the meta-data class thread safe to serve the purpose above?

Maybe a derived Dbo::ptr class that makes reading thread safe using locking or atomic synchronization as in std::shared_ptr.

Or maybe I should store the Dbo object in a shared ptr, however, it would still have mapped Wt::Dbo::ptr references.

Actions #5

Updated by Koen Deforche almost 10 years ago

Hey,

You we would then only need to make the reference counting property thread-safe, which could perhaps be done with some atomic instruction?

Regards,

koen

Actions #6

Updated by Saif Rehman almost 10 years ago

Ok, I'll look it up

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