Merge tag 'docs-5.3' of git://git.lwn.net/linux

Pull Documentation updates from Jonathan Corbet:
 "It's been a relatively busy cycle for docs:

   - A fair pile of RST conversions, many from Mauro. These create more
     than the usual number of simple but annoying merge conflicts with
     other trees, unfortunately. He has a lot more of these waiting on
     the wings that, I think, will go to you directly later on.

   - A new document on how to use merges and rebases in kernel repos,
     and one on Spectre vulnerabilities.

   - Various improvements to the build system, including automatic
     markup of function() references because some people, for reasons I
     will never understand, were of the opinion that
     :c:func:``function()`` is unattractive and not fun to type.

   - We now recommend using sphinx 1.7, but still support back to 1.4.

   - Lots of smaller improvements, warning fixes, typo fixes, etc"

* tag 'docs-5.3' of git://git.lwn.net/linux: (129 commits)
  docs: automarkup.py: ignore exceptions when seeking for xrefs
  docs: Move binderfs to admin-guide
  Disable Sphinx SmartyPants in HTML output
  doc: RCU callback locks need only _bh, not necessarily _irq
  docs: format kernel-parameters -- as code
  Doc : doc-guide : Fix a typo
  platform: x86: get rid of a non-existent document
  Add the RCU docs to the core-api manual
  Documentation: RCU: Add TOC tree hooks
  Documentation: RCU: Rename txt files to rst
  Documentation: RCU: Convert RCU UP systems to reST
  Documentation: RCU: Convert RCU linked list to reST
  Documentation: RCU: Convert RCU basic concepts to reST
  docs: filesystems: Remove uneeded .rst extension on toctables
  scripts/sphinx-pre-install: fix out-of-tree build
  docs: zh_CN: submitting-drivers.rst: Remove a duplicated Documentation/
  Documentation: PGP: update for newer HW devices
  Documentation: Add section about CPU vulnerabilities for Spectre
  Documentation: platform: Delete x86-laptop-drivers.txt
  docs: Note that :c:func: should no longer be used
  ...

1 files changed, 76 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/Documentation/scheduler/sched-arch.rst b/Documentation/scheduler/sched-arch.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..0eaec669790a
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+++ b/Documentation/scheduler/sched-arch.rst
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+=================================================================
+CPU Scheduler implementation hints for architecture specific code
+=================================================================
+
+	Nick Piggin, 2005
+
+Context switch
+==============
+1. Runqueue locking
+By default, the switch_to arch function is called with the runqueue
+locked. This is usually not a problem unless switch_to may need to
+take the runqueue lock. This is usually due to a wake up operation in
+the context switch. See arch/ia64/include/asm/switch_to.h for an example.
+
+To request the scheduler call switch_to with the runqueue unlocked,
+you must `#define __ARCH_WANT_UNLOCKED_CTXSW` in a header file
+(typically the one where switch_to is defined).
+
+Unlocked context switches introduce only a very minor performance
+penalty to the core scheduler implementation in the CONFIG_SMP case.
+
+CPU idle
+========
+Your cpu_idle routines need to obey the following rules:
+
+1. Preempt should now disabled over idle routines. Should only
+   be enabled to call schedule() then disabled again.
+
+2. need_resched/TIF_NEED_RESCHED is only ever set, and will never
+   be cleared until the running task has called schedule(). Idle
+   threads need only ever query need_resched, and may never set or
+   clear it.
+
+3. When cpu_idle finds (need_resched() == 'true'), it should call
+   schedule(). It should not call schedule() otherwise.
+
+4. The only time interrupts need to be disabled when checking
+   need_resched is if we are about to sleep the processor until
+   the next interrupt (this doesn't provide any protection of
+   need_resched, it prevents losing an interrupt):
+
+	4a. Common problem with this type of sleep appears to be::
+
+	        local_irq_disable();
+	        if (!need_resched()) {
+	                local_irq_enable();
+	                *** resched interrupt arrives here ***
+	                __asm__("sleep until next interrupt");
+	        }
+
+5. TIF_POLLING_NRFLAG can be set by idle routines that do not
+   need an interrupt to wake them up when need_resched goes high.
+   In other words, they must be periodically polling need_resched,
+   although it may be reasonable to do some background work or enter
+   a low CPU priority.
+
+      - 5a. If TIF_POLLING_NRFLAG is set, and we do decide to enter
+	an interrupt sleep, it needs to be cleared then a memory
+	barrier issued (followed by a test of need_resched with
+	interrupts disabled, as explained in 3).
+
+arch/x86/kernel/process.c has examples of both polling and
+sleeping idle functions.
+
+
+Possible arch/ problems
+=======================
+
+Possible arch problems I found (and either tried to fix or didn't):
+
+ia64 - is safe_halt call racy vs interrupts? (does it sleep?) (See #4a)
+
+sh64 - Is sleeping racy vs interrupts? (See #4a)
+
+sparc - IRQs on at this point(?), change local_irq_save to _disable.
+      - TODO: needs secondary CPUs to disable preempt (See #1)