Memory ordering
Memory ordering is the set of rules governing the permitted ordering and visibility of memory operations across concurrent execution contexts.
C++ Concurrency in Action, Second Edition
The constraints governing how memory operations are ordered and observed across threads in the C++ memory model.
- How it is used
- Governs what atomic operations make observable across threads, particularly when publishing data or implementing lock-free structures.
- How deep it goes
- Works through contrasting ordering models and a lock-free stack’s success and retry paths, including the relationships each path requires.
- Examples
- Contrasts two-flag thread examples with a release-acquire flag handoff and a reference-counted lock-free stack.
- What you can do after
- Apply it via `std::atomic` memory-order arguments by deriving required happens-before relationships before weakening success or retry paths.
Read how C++ Concurrency in Action, Second Edition explains memory ordering →
Latency
Memory ordering is the set of rules governing the observable order in which memory operations become effective across concurrent execution contexts.
- How it is used
- Controls visibility and ordering in lock-free and wait-free concurrent algorithms.
- How deep it goes
- Explains CPU reordering, barrier roles, ordering modes, and a runnable invariant-violation example.
- Examples
- Uses Rust atomics, a value-and-done flag pair, repeated execution, and sorted output to expose an invariant violation.
- What you can do after
- Apply it via Rust or C++ atomic APIs to publish data safely between concurrent threads.
Related concepts
- sequential consistencyconfigures · Sequential consistency is a memory model in which participating operations appear in a single total order that preserves each thread’s program order.
- data raceaddresses · A data race is a concurrent access to shared data in which at least one access is a write and the accesses are not adequately synchronized.
- atomic operationconfigures · An atomic operation accesses or updates shared state as an indivisible action with respect to concurrent operations.
- std::memory_orderimplemented by · `std::memory_order` is a C++ standard library enumeration whose values specify memory-ordering constraints for atomic operations.
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