JDK-4242244 : JIT violates the Memory Model in the Java Language Specification
  • Type: Bug
  • Component: vm-legacy
  • Sub-Component: jit
  • Affected Version: 1.2.1
  • Priority: P4
  • Status: Closed
  • Resolution: Won't Fix
  • OS: generic
  • CPU: generic
  • Submitted: 1999-05-28
  • Updated: 2000-03-02
  • Resolved: 2000-03-02
Related Reports
Relates :  
Description

Name: krT82822			Date: 05/28/99


The following JVM's all perform optimizations that violate 
chapter 17 of the Java Language Specification, which described 
the model for how threads can interact through shared memory:

	Wintel 1.1.8
	Wintel 1.2.1 classic
	Wintel 1.2.1 Hotspot
	Sparc Solaris 1.2.1 production

This can be considered either a bug in the compiler or a problem
with chapter 17 of the specification (I would argue for the later).
I have gone over this with Guy Steele, and he agrees with me
that the optimization is not allowed by the current specification.

I have written a paper on the Java memory model which describes
these issues at length:
  "Fixing the Java Memory Model", William Pugh, ACM SIGPLAN Java Grande
  Conference, 1999, available from 
	http://www.cs.umd.edu/~pugh/java.
 
Below I include a sample program that tests for violation of the
Java memory model.

/**
 * This class checks to see if a Java Virtual Machine
 * respects the Java Memory Model, as described in
 * Chapter 17 of the Java Language Specification.
 *
 * The Java Memory Model prohibits certain compiler optimizations.
 * In particular, it requires that for each memory location in isolation,
 * the reads and writes to that memory location have sequentially
 * consistent semantics. One effect of this is that once a thread
 * sees a write to a variable by another thread, it cannot forget that
 * it has seen the write.
 *
 * In particular, for the code sequence:
 *
 *    i = p.x;
 *    j = q.x;
 *    k = p.x;
 *
 * the compiler may not eliminate the second load of p.x unless
 * it can prove that q and p do not point to the same object,
 * or that no other thread can update p.x.
 *
 * This is spelled out in much more detail in
 *
 * "Fixing the Java Memory Model", William Pugh, ACM SIGPLAN Java Grande
 * Conference, 1999, available from http://www.cs.umd.edu/~pugh/java.
 *
 */
import java.awt.Point;

public class Coherence {
    static Point p = new Point();
    static Point q = p;

    public static void check() {
        boolean optimizationDone = true;
        boolean interleavingSeen = false;
        boolean loopHoistingDone = true;
        Point pp = p;
        Point qq = q;
        int i,i0,j,k,m;
        i = 0;
        for(int l = 0;l < 10000000; l++) {
            i0 = i;
            i = pp.x;
            j = qq.x;
            k = pp.x;
            m = pp.x;

            if (l > 0 && i0 != i) loopHoistingDone = false;
            if (k != m) optimizationDone = false;
            if (i != j) interleavingSeen = true;
            if (j > k) {
                System.out.println(
                "i = " + i
                    + ", j = " + j
                    + ", k = " + k
                    + ", j > k -- in violation of JMM");
                System.exit(0);
            }
        }
        if (!optimizationDone)  {
            System.out.println("optimization not done (yet)");
            interleavingSeen = false;
        }
        else if (loopHoistingDone)
            System.out.println("Extremely poor interleaving or Loop hoisting done");
        else if (!interleavingSeen)
            System.out.println("no intra-loop interleaving seen");
        else System.out.println("Saw intra-loop interleaving and only legal optimizations");
        Thread.yield();

    }


    public static void main(String args[]) {

        Thread t1 = new Thread() {
            public void run() {
                while (true) {
                    for(int l = 0;l < 10000000; l++) {
                        p.x++;
                    }
                    Thread.yield();
                }
            }
        };
        Thread t2 = new Thread() {
            public void run() {
                for(int l = 0;l < 10; l++)  check();
                System.out.println("No violation of the JMM detected");
                System.exit(0);
            }
        };
        t1.start();
        t2.start();
    }
}
(Review ID: 63094) 
======================================================================

Comments
EVALUATION Name: dd4877 Date: 03/02/2000 daniel.daugherty@eng 2000-03-02 Due to the upcoming retirement of the Classic VM and its JITs, this bug is being closed. If the same bug is known to be present in the HotSpot VM implementation, a separate bug should already exist in the relevant HotSpot subcategory. See the bug 4329831
11-06-2004

WORK AROUND Name: krT82822 Date: 05/28/99 In a compiler or JIT, you either have to ignore the specification, or disable optimizations (done by other compilers), degrading performance. ======================================================================
11-06-2004

PUBLIC COMMENTS .
10-06-2004