-
-Note the use of ACCESS_ONCE() in both algorithms to read the opposition index.
-This prevents the compiler from discarding and reloading its cached value -
-which some compilers will do across smp_read_barrier_depends(). This isn't
-strictly needed if you can be sure that the opposition index will _only_ be
-used the once.
+Note the use of ACCESS_ONCE() and smp_load_acquire() to read the
+opposition index. This prevents the compiler from discarding and
+reloading its cached value - which some compilers will do across
+smp_read_barrier_depends(). This isn't strictly needed if you can
+be sure that the opposition index will _only_ be used the once.
+The smp_load_acquire() additionally forces the CPU to order against
+subsequent memory references. Similarly, smp_store_release() is used
+in both algorithms to write the thread's index. This documents the
+fact that we are writing to something that can be read concurrently,
+prevents the compiler from tearing the store, and enforces ordering
+against previous accesses.