[PATCH] Documentation/locking: Document the semantics of spin_is_locked()

[Andrea Parri <parri.andrea@gmail.com>]

There appeared to be a certain, recurrent uncertainty concerning the
semantics of spin_is_locked(), likely a consequence of the fact that
this semantics remains undocumented or that it has been historically
linked to the (likewise unclear) semantics of spin_unlock_wait().

Document this semantics.

Signed-off-by: Andrea Parri <parri.andrea@gmail.com>
Cc: Alan Stern <stern@rowland.harvard.edu>
Cc: Will Deacon <will.deacon@arm.com>
Cc: Peter Zijlstra <peterz@infradead.org>
Cc: Boqun Feng <boqun.feng@gmail.com>
Cc: Nicholas Piggin <npiggin@gmail.com>
Cc: David Howells <dhowells@redhat.com>
Cc: Jade Alglave <j.alglave@ucl.ac.uk>
Cc: Luc Maranget <luc.maranget@inria.fr>
Cc: "Paul E. McKenney" <paulmck@linux.vnet.ibm.com>
Cc: Akira Yokosawa <akiyks@gmail.com>
---
 include/linux/spinlock.h | 11 +++++++++++
 1 file changed, 11 insertions(+)

diff --git a/include/linux/spinlock.h b/include/linux/spinlock.h
index 4894d322d2584..2639fdc9a916c 100644
--- a/include/linux/spinlock.h
+++ b/include/linux/spinlock.h
@@ -380,6 +380,17 @@ static __always_inline int spin_trylock_irq(spinlock_t *lock)
 	raw_spin_trylock_irqsave(spinlock_check(lock), flags); \
 })
 
+/**
+ * spin_is_locked() - Check whether a spinlock is locked.
+ * @lock: Pointer to the spinlock.
+ *
+ * This function is NOT required to provide any memory ordering
+ * guarantees; it could be used for debugging purposes or, when
+ * additional synchronization is needed, accompanied with other
+ * constructs (memory barriers) enforcing the synchronization.
+ *
+ * Return: 1, if @lock is (found to be) locked; 0, otherwise.
+ */
 static __always_inline int spin_is_locked(spinlock_t *lock)
 {
 	return raw_spin_is_locked(&lock->rlock);
-- 
2.7.4