article

Fences in weak memory models (extended version)

Authors:

Peter SewellAuthors Info & Claims

Formal Methods in System Design, Volume 40, Issue 2

Pages 170 - 205

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10703-011-0135-z

Published: 01 April 2012 Publication History

Abstract

We present a class of relaxed memory models, defined in Coq, parameterised by the chosen permitted local reorderings of reads and writes, and by the visibility of inter- and intra-processor communications through memory (e.g. store atomicity relaxation). We prove results on the required behaviour and placement of memory fences to restore a given model (such as Sequential Consistency) from a weaker one. Based on this class of models we develop a tool, diy, that systematically and automatically generates and runs litmus tests. These tests can be used to explore the behaviour of processor implementations and the behaviour of models, and hence to compare the two against each other. We detail the results of experiments on Power and a model we base on them.

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Cited By

Geeson LBrotherston JDijkstra WDonaldson ASmith LSorensen TWickerson J(2024)Mix Testing: Specifying and Testing ABI Compatibility of C/C++ Atomics ImplementationsProceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages10.1145/36897278:OOPSLA2(442-467)Online publication date: 8-Oct-2024
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Haas TMeyer RPonce de León H(2022)CAAT: consistency as a theoryProceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages10.1145/35632926:OOPSLA2(114-144)Online publication date: 31-Oct-2022
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Published In

cover image Formal Methods in System Design

Formal Methods in System Design Volume 40, Issue 2

April 2012

165 pages

ISSN:0925-9856

Issue’s Table of Contents

Copyright © Copyright © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Publisher

Kluwer Academic Publishers

United States

Publication History

Published: 01 April 2012

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Cited By

Geeson LBrotherston JDijkstra WDonaldson ASmith LSorensen TWickerson J(2024)Mix Testing: Specifying and Testing ABI Compatibility of C/C++ Atomics ImplementationsProceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages10.1145/36897278:OOPSLA2(442-467)Online publication date: 8-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3689727
Sun ZFan HHe F(2022)Consistency-preserving propagation for SMT solving of concurrent program verificationProceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages10.1145/35633216:OOPSLA2(929-956)Online publication date: 31-Oct-2022
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3563321
Haas TMeyer RPonce de León H(2022)CAAT: consistency as a theoryProceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages10.1145/35632926:OOPSLA2(114-144)Online publication date: 31-Oct-2022
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3563292
Alglave JDeacon WGrisenthwaite RHacquard AMaranget L(2021)Armed CatsACM Transactions on Programming Languages and Systems10.1145/345892643:2(1-54)Online publication date: 23-Jul-2021
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Alglave JMaranget LMcKenney PParri AStern A(2018)Frightening Small Children and Disconcerting Grown-upsACM SIGPLAN Notices10.1145/3296957.317715653:2(405-418)Online publication date: 19-Mar-2018
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Alglave JMaranget LMcKenney PParri AStern AShen XTuck JBianchini RSarkar V(2018)Frightening Small Children and Disconcerting Grown-upsProceedings of the Twenty-Third International Conference on Architectural Support for Programming Languages and Operating Systems10.1145/3173162.3177156(405-418)Online publication date: 19-Mar-2018
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3173162.3177156
Alglave JStewart DWeissenbacher G(2017)Coalition, intrigue, ambush, destruction and prideProceedings of the 17th Conference on Formal Methods in Computer-Aided Design10.5555/3168451.3168455(6-6)Online publication date: 2-Oct-2017
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Liang LMelham TKroening DSchrammel PTautschnig M(2017)Effective Verification for Low-Level Software with Competing InterruptsACM Transactions on Embedded Computing Systems10.1145/314743217:2(1-26)Online publication date: 7-Dec-2017
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Narayanaswamy GJoshi SKroening D(2016)The virtues of conflictACM SIGPLAN Notices10.1145/3016078.285116551:8(1-12)Online publication date: 27-Feb-2016
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