(first post to this forum, so be nice guys! :)
For example, on ia32 32 bit aligned ops are atomic
But you will also need to express the constraint that the data be aligned?
, on ia64 it is 64 bit.
However, remember that the fact that a given data type can be written in a single operation != visibility across all processors in an MP system.
doubles on ia32 need locking to be atomic, on ia64 they don't.
I think that the later models of ia32 can write up to 8 bytes at a time.
Any suggestions on best practice for this?
I think you might want to send this post to comp.programming.threads too - you may get some interesting feedback. I think Alexander Therekhov has some class wrapper for atomic types that I am sure he'd be keen to discuss, but unfortunately I've never had the time to review it. Tom -------------------------------------------------------- NOTICE: If received in error, please destroy and notify sender. Sender does not waive confidentiality or privilege, and use is prohibited.