1It has been said that successful communication requires first identifying 2what your audience knows and then building a bridge from their current 3knowledge to what they need to know. Unfortunately, the expected 4Linux-kernel memory model (LKMM) audience might be anywhere from novice 5to expert both in kernel hacking and in understanding LKMM. 6 7This document therefore points out a number of places to start reading, 8depending on what you know and what you would like to learn. Please note 9that the documents later in this list assume that the reader understands 10the material provided by documents earlier in this list. 11 12o You are new to Linux-kernel concurrency: simple.txt 13 14o You are familiar with the Linux-kernel concurrency primitives 15 that you need, and just want to get started with LKMM litmus 16 tests: litmus-tests.txt 17 18o You are familiar with Linux-kernel concurrency, and would 19 like a detailed intuitive understanding of LKMM, including 20 situations involving more than two threads: recipes.txt 21 22o You are familiar with Linux-kernel concurrency and the use of 23 LKMM, and would like a quick reference: cheatsheet.txt 24 25o You are familiar with Linux-kernel concurrency and the use 26 of LKMM, and would like to learn about LKMM's requirements, 27 rationale, and implementation: explanation.txt 28 29o You are interested in the publications related to LKMM, including 30 hardware manuals, academic literature, standards-committee 31 working papers, and LWN articles: references.txt 32 33 34==================== 35DESCRIPTION OF FILES 36==================== 37 38README 39 This file. 40 41cheatsheet.txt 42 Quick-reference guide to the Linux-kernel memory model. 43 44explanation.txt 45 Detailed description of the memory model. 46 47litmus-tests.txt 48 The format, features, capabilities, and limitations of the litmus 49 tests that LKMM can evaluate. 50 51recipes.txt 52 Common memory-ordering patterns. 53 54references.txt 55 Background information. 56 57simple.txt 58 Starting point for someone new to Linux-kernel concurrency. 59 And also a reminder of the simpler approaches to concurrency! 60