This question has been superseded by C++11 lock free collection similar to std::forward_list - follow-up 2Thread safe and lock free collections are very hard to write, so I'd appreciate any feedback, especially regarding bugs. The code below is a self contained cpp including some tests.This question is a new iteration of the closed question:https://codereview.stackexchange.com/questions/77293/c11-lock-free-collection-similar-to-stdforward-listall methods are thread safe, baring the destructorpush, insert, pop, erase and iterator increment/dereference are O(1)locks that do occur are per-element spin lockspush and insert operations are lock free. clear is lock freepop and erase are not lock free.separate and concat are lock free, and can be used to almost do a lock free pop or erase.begin, cbegin and incrementing iterators are not lock freedereferencing iterators is lock freeuses reference counting to preserve iterators (and values) of removed elementsiterators of removed elements will increment to end()insert_after or emplace_after on a removed iterator will return end() to indicate failure.In addition to the creative commons license for code on this site, you may also use it under the MIT license.// Is noexcept supported?#if defined(__clang__) && __has_feature(cxx_noexcept) || \    defined(__GXX_EXPERIMENTAL_CXX0X__) && __GNUC__ * 10 + __GNUC_MINOR__ >= 46 || \    defined(_MSC_FULL_VER) && _MSC_FULL_VER >= 180021114#  define NOEXCEPT noexcept#else#  define NOEXCEPT#endif#include <memory>#include <atomic>inline void* lock_free_forward_list_get_deadDummy() {    static std::unique_ptr<void*> deadDummy_(new void* ());    return deadDummy_.get();}inline void* lock_free_forward_list_get_spinDummy() {    static std::unique_ptr<void*> spinDummy_(new void* ());    return spinDummy_.get();}#define deadDummy ((node*)lock_free_forward_list_get_deadDummy())#define spinDummy ((node*)lock_free_forward_list_get_spinDummy())//similar to std::forward_list, but thread safe and lock free//some methods have been removed/added to facilitate these guarantees.template<class T>class lock_free_forward_list{private:    static std::memory_order combine_memory_order(std::memory_order loadOrder, std::memory_order storeOrder) {        if (loadOrder == std::memory_order_seq_cst || storeOrder == std::memory_order_seq_cst){            return std::memory_order_seq_cst;        }        if (loadOrder == std::memory_order_acquire || loadOrder == std::memory_order_consume || loadOrder == std::memory_order_acq_rel) {            if (storeOrder == std::memory_order_release || storeOrder == std::memory_order_acq_rel) {                return std::memory_order_acq_rel;            }            if (storeOrder == std::memory_order_relaxed) {                return loadOrder;            }        }        return storeOrder;    }    template<class T>    class ForwardIterator;    class node;    class node {        friend class lock_free_forward_list<T>;        friend class ForwardIterator<T>;        T value;        std::atomic<node*> next;        std::atomic<int> referenceCount;        node(T const &value) : value(value), next(nullptr), referenceCount(1) {}        node(T &&value) : value(std::move(value)), next(nullptr), referenceCount(1) {}        template<class... U>        node(U... params) : value(std::forward(params)...), next(nullptr), referenceCount(1) {}        ~node() {            node* n = lockLoadTransferOwnership(next, std::memory_order_seq_cst, std::memory_order_seq_cst);            loseOwnership(n, std::memory_order_seq_cst, std::memory_order_seq_cst);            next.store(deadDummy);        }    };    //lock free    static void loseOwnership(node *&n, std::memory_order loadOrder, std::memory_order storeOrder) {        assert(n != deadDummy);        assert(n != spinDummy);        if (n && n->referenceCount.fetch_sub(1, combine_memory_order(loadOrder, storeOrder)) == 1) {            delete n;        }        n = nullptr;    }    //lock free    static node *gainOwnership(node* n, std::memory_order loadOrder, std::memory_order storeOrder) {        assert(n != deadDummy);        assert(n != spinDummy);        assert(n != nullptr);        n->referenceCount.fetch_add(1, combine_memory_order(loadOrder, storeOrder));        return n;    }    //lock free    static void exchange(std::atomic<node*> &left, node* &right, std::memory_order loadOrder, std::memory_order storeOrder) {        assert(right != spinDummy);        node *n = left.load(loadOrder);        do {            while (n == spinDummy) {                n = left.load(loadOrder);            }        } while (!left.compare_exchange_weak(n, right, storeOrder, loadOrder));        assert(n != deadDummy);        right = n;    }    //NOT lock free on left, lock free on right    static void exchange(std::atomic<node*> &left, std::atomic<node*> &right, std::memory_order loadOrder, std::memory_order storeOrder) {        node* temp = lockLoadTransferOwnership(left, loadOrder, storeOrder);        exchange(right, temp, loadOrder, storeOrder);        storeTransferOwnershipUnlock(left, temp, loadOrder, storeOrder);    }    //NOT lock free    static node *lockLoadTransferOwnership(std::atomic<node*> &atomic_ptr, std::memory_order loadOrder, std::memory_order storeOrder) {        node *n;        n = atomic_ptr.load(loadOrder);        do {            while (n == spinDummy) {                n = atomic_ptr.load(loadOrder);            }        } while (!atomic_ptr.compare_exchange_weak(n, spinDummy, std::memory_order_relaxed));        if (n == deadDummy) {            atomic_ptr.store(deadDummy, std::memory_order_relaxed);            return nullptr;        }        if (n == nullptr) return nullptr;        return n;    }    //lock free - but requires a preceding call to lockLoadTransferOwnership    static void storeTransferOwnershipUnlock(std::atomic<node*> &atomic_ptr, node* &n, std::memory_order loadOrder, std::memory_order storeOrder) {        assert(atomic_ptr.load(std::memory_order_relaxed) == spinDummy);        atomic_ptr.store(n, storeOrder);        n = nullptr;    }    //NOT lock free    static node* lockLoadGainOwnershipUnlock(std::atomic<node*> &atomic_ptr, std::memory_order loadOrder, std::memory_order storeOrder) {        node *temp = lockLoadTransferOwnership(atomic_ptr, loadOrder, storeOrder);        if (temp == nullptr && atomic_ptr.load(loadOrder) == deadDummy) return nullptr;        node* result = temp ? gainOwnership(temp, loadOrder, storeOrder) : nullptr;        storeTransferOwnershipUnlock(atomic_ptr, temp, loadOrder, storeOrder);        return result;    }    //lock free    static void loseOwnershipStoreTransferOwnership(std::atomic<node*> &atomic_ptr, node* &n, std::memory_order loadOrder, std::memory_order storeOrder) {        assert(n != deadDummy);        assert(n != spinDummy);        exchange(atomic_ptr, n, loadOrder, storeOrder);        if (n != nullptr) {            loseOwnership(n, storeOrder, loadOrder);        }    }    static void loseOwnershipStoreTransferOwnership(node * &x, node* &n, std::memory_order loadOrder, std::memory_order storeOrder) {        assert(n != deadDummy);        assert(n != spinDummy);        std::swap(x, n);        if (n != nullptr) {            loseOwnership(n, storeOrder, loadOrder);        }    }    //lock free    static void loseOwnershipStoreGainOwnership(node *&x, node *n, std::memory_order loadOrder, std::memory_order storeOrder) {        if (x != nullptr) {            loseOwnership(x, loadOrder, storeOrder);        }        x = n ? gainOwnership(n, loadOrder, storeOrder) : nullptr;    }    template<class T>    //construction is lock free (though begin() is not)    //incrementing is NOT lock free    class ForwardIterator {        friend class lock_free_forward_list;        node *current;    public:        typedef std::forward_iterator_tag iterator_category;        typedef T value_type;        typedef T & reference;        typedef T * pointer;        ForwardIterator() : current(nullptr) {}        ForwardIterator(node* n) : current(n ? gainOwnership(n, std::memory_order_seq_cst, std::memory_order_seq_cst) : nullptr) {}        ForwardIterator(ForwardIterator const &other) : current(other.current ? gainOwnership(other.current, std::memory_order_seq_cst, std::memory_order_seq_cst) : nullptr) {}        ForwardIterator(ForwardIterator &&other) : current(nullptr) { std::swap(current, other.current); }        ~ForwardIterator() {            loseOwnership(current, std::memory_order_seq_cst, std::memory_order_seq_cst);        }        ForwardIterator& operator=(ForwardIterator const &other) {            loseOwnershipStoreGainOwnership(current, other.current, std::memory_order_seq_cst, std::memory_order_seq_cst);            return *this;        }        T &operator*() { return current->value; }        T &operator->() { return current->value; }        ForwardIterator operator++() {            assert(current != nullptr);            node *temp = lockLoadGainOwnershipUnlock(current->next, std::memory_order_seq_cst, std::memory_order_seq_cst);            loseOwnershipStoreTransferOwnership(current, temp, std::memory_order_seq_cst, std::memory_order_seq_cst);            return *this;        }        ForwardIterator operator++(int) {            assert(current != nullptr);            ForwardIterator temp = *this;            ++*this;            return temp;        }        friend void swap(ForwardIterator& a, ForwardIterator& b) NOEXCEPT        {            using std::swap; // bring in swap for built-in types            std::swap(a.current, b.current);        }        operator ForwardIterator<const T>() const        {            return ForwardIterator<const T>(current);        }        bool operator==(ForwardIterator const &rhs) {            return current == rhs.current;        }        bool operator!=(ForwardIterator const &rhs) {            return !(*this == rhs);        }    };public:    typedef T value_type;    typedef value_type & reference;    typedef const value_type & const_reference;    typedef value_type * pointer;    typedef value_type const * const_pointer;    typedef ForwardIterator<T> iterator;    typedef ForwardIterator<const T> const_iterator;    lock_free_forward_list() : first(nullptr) {    }    ~lock_free_forward_list() {        clear();    }    //lock free    bool empty(std::memory_order loadOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst) {        return first.load(loadOrder) == nullptr;    }    //lock free    //iterators will still contain correct values,    //but incrementing them or inserting after them will result in a default constructed iterator    int clear(std::memory_order loadOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst, std::memory_order storeOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst) {        node *oldFirst = nullptr;        exchange(first, oldFirst, loadOrder, storeOrder);        //if we just delete the first node, it may cascade down all the        //subsequent nodes. This would be fine, if not for the possibility        //of blowing the stack. Instead we delete them in reverse.        std::vector<node*> nodes;        while (oldFirst) {            nodes.push_back(oldFirst);            node *temp = deadDummy;            exchange(oldFirst->next, temp, loadOrder, storeOrder);            oldFirst = temp;        }        for (auto i = nodes.rbegin(); i != nodes.rend(); ++i) {            loseOwnership(*i, loadOrder, storeOrder);        }        return nodes.size();    }    //NOT lock free - iterators and inserts will block, and then end or fail respectively    //elements inserted during this algorithm will be removed as well    //use locked_clear to have inserts fail instead    int locked_clear(std::memory_order loadOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst, std::memory_order storeOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst) {        node *oldFirst = nullptr;        exchange(first, oldFirst, loadOrder, storeOrder);        //if we just delete the first node, it may cascade down all the        //subsequent nodes. This would be fine, if not for the possibility        //of blowing the stack. Instead we delete them in reverse.        std::vector<node*> nodes;        while (oldFirst) {            nodes.push_back(oldFirst);            node *temp = spinDummy;            exchange(oldFirst->next, temp, loadOrder, storeOrder);            oldFirst = temp;        }        for (auto i = nodes.rbegin(); i != nodes.rend(); ++i) {            loseOwnership(*i, loadOrder, storeOrder);        }        return nodes.size();    }    //NOT lock free    T& front(std::memory_order loadOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst) {        return *begin(loadOrder);    }    //lock free    void push_front(const T& value, std::memory_order loadOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst, std::memory_order storeOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst) {        insert_node(first, new node(value), loadOrder, storeOrder);    }    //lock free    void push_front(T&& value, std::memory_order loadOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst, std::memory_order storeOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst) {        auto result = insert_node(first, new node(std::move(value)), loadOrder, storeOrder);        assert(result.current != nullptr);    }    //lock free    template<class... U>    void emplace_front(U... params) {        insert_node(first, new node(params...), std::memory_order_seq_cst, std::memory_order_seq_cst);    }    //lock free    template<class... U>    void emplace_front_ordered(std::memory_order loadOrder, std::memory_order storeOrder, U... params) {        insert_node(first, new node(params...), loadOrder, storeOrder);    }    //NOT lock free    bool pop_front(T &value, std::memory_order loadOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst, std::memory_order storeOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst) {        return remove_node(first, value, loadOrder, storeOrder);    }    //NOT lock free    iterator begin(std::memory_order loadOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst, std::memory_order storeOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst) {        node *n = lockLoadGainOwnershipUnlock(first, loadOrder, storeOrder);        iterator result(n);        loseOwnership(n, loadOrder, storeOrder);        return result;    }    //lock free    iterator end() {        return iterator();    }    //NOT lock free    const_iterator cbegin(std::memory_order loadOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst) {        return begin();    }    //lock free    const_iterator cend() {        return const_iterator();    }    //lock free - except construction of iterator    //returns a default constructed iterator if position is no longer valid    iterator insert_after(const_iterator position, T const &value, std::memory_order loadOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst, std::memory_order storeOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst) {        return insert_node(position.current->next, new node(value), loadOrder, storeOrder);    }    //lock free - except construction of iterator    iterator insert_after(const_iterator position, T&& value, std::memory_order loadOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst, std::memory_order storeOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst) {        return insert_node(position.current->next, new node(value), loadOrder, storeOrder);    }    //lock free    iterator insert_after(const_iterator pos, int count, const T& value, std::memory_order loadOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst, std::memory_order storeOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst) {        if (count <= 0) return iterator();        iterator result = pos = insert_after(pos, value, loadOrder, storeOrder);        for (int i = 1; i < count; i++) {            pos = insert_after(pos, value, loadOrder, storeOrder);        }        return result;    }    //lock free    template< class InputIt >    iterator insert_after(const_iterator pos, InputIt first, InputIt last, std::memory_order loadOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst, std::memory_order storeOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst) {        if (first == last) return iterator();        iterator result = pos = insert_after(pos, *first, loadOrder, storeOrder);        ++first;        while (first != last) {            pos = insert_after(pos, first, loadOrder, storeOrder);            ++first;        }        return result;    }    //lock free    iterator insert_after(const_iterator pos, std::initializer_list<T> ilist, std::memory_order loadOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst, std::memory_order storeOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst) {        return insert_after(pos, ilist.begin(), ilist.end(), loadOrder, storeOrder);    }    //lock free    template<class... U>    iterator emplace_after(const_iterator position, U&&... params) {        return insert_node(position, new node(std::forward(params)...));    }    //lock free    template<class... U>    iterator emplace_after_ordered(const_iterator position, std::memory_order loadOrder, std::memory_order storeOrder, U&&... params) {        return insert_node(position, new node(std::forward(params)...), loadOrder, storeOrder);    }    //lock free    //all the elements after position are moved to a new lock_free_forward_list    bool separate_after(const_iterator position, lock_free_forward_list<T> *&result, std::memory_order loadOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst, std::memory_order storeOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst) {        node *n = seperate(position.current->next, loadOrder, storeOrder);        if (!n) return false;        result = new lock_free_forward_list<T>();        result->first = n;        return true;    }    void concat(lock_free_forward_list &other, std::memory_order loadOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst, std::memory_order storeOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst) {        node *n = seperate(other.first, loadOrder, storeOrder);        concat(other.first)    }           //NOT lock free    bool erase_after(const_iterator position, T &value, std::memory_order loadOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst, std::memory_order storeOrder = std::memory_order_seq_cst) {        return remove_node(position.current->next, value, loadOrder, storeOrder);    }    //NOT lock free on a, lock free on b    friend void swap(lock_free_forward_list& a, lock_free_forward_list& b)    {        exchange(a.first, b.first);    }private:    std::atomic<node*> first;    static iterator insert_node(std::atomic<node*> &atomic_ptr, node* n, std::memory_order loadOrder, std::memory_order storeOrder) {        iterator result(n); //it's possible that the node is removed before we return, so do this early        n->next.store(n, storeOrder);        exchange(n->next, atomic_ptr, loadOrder, storeOrder);        return result;    }    static node* seperate(std::atomic<node*> &atomic_ptr, std::memory_order loadOrder, std::memory_order storeOrder) {        node* oldNext = nullptr;        exchange(atomic_ptr, oldNext, loadOrder, storeOrder);        return oldNext;    }    static void concat(std::atomic<node*> &first, node* n, std::memory_order loadOrder, std::memory_order storeOrder){        if (n == nullptr) return;        std::atomic<node*> *atomic_ptr_ptr = &first;        node* temp = nullptr;        while (!atomic_ptr_ptr->compare_exchange_weak(temp, n, storeOrder, loadOrder)) {            while ((temp = atomic_ptr_ptr.load(loadOrder)) == spinDummy);            if (temp == deadDummy) { //start over                atomic_ptr_ptr = &first;                temp = nullptr;            }            else {                atomic_ptr_ptr = &temp->next;                temp = nullptr;            }        }    }    static bool remove_node(std::atomic<node*> &atomic_ptr, T &value, std::memory_order loadOrder, std::memory_order storeOrder) {        std::memory_order combinedOrder = combine_memory_order(loadOrder, storeOrder);        node *x = lockLoadTransferOwnership(atomic_ptr, storeOrder, loadOrder);        if (x == nullptr) {            if (atomic_ptr.load(loadOrder) == deadDummy) return false;            node *temp = nullptr;            storeTransferOwnershipUnlock(atomic_ptr, temp, storeOrder, loadOrder);            return false;        }        value = x->value;        node *y = lockLoadTransferOwnership(x->next, loadOrder, storeOrder);        storeTransferOwnershipUnlock(atomic_ptr, y, loadOrder, storeOrder);        node *temp = deadDummy;        storeTransferOwnershipUnlock(x->next, temp, loadOrder, storeOrder);        loseOwnership(x, loadOrder, storeOrder);        return true;    }};#undef deadDummy#undef spinDummy/*************************************//***                               ***//***      Test Code                ***//***                               ***//*************************************/#ifdef _MSC_VER //for doing leak detection#   define _CRTDBG_MAP_ALLOC#   include <stdlib.h>#   include <crtdbg.h>#   define DUMP _CrtDumpMemoryLeaks()#else#   define DUMP#endif #include <vector>#include <thread>#include <iostream>#include <set>#include <mutex>class lock_free_forward_list_tests {public:    static void test_01() {        {            lock_free_forward_list<int> a;        }        DUMP;    }    static void test_02() {        {            lock_free_forward_list<int> a;            a.push_front(2);            int v = 0;            assert(a.pop_front(v));            assert(v == 2);            assert(a.empty());        }        DUMP;    }    static void test_03() {        {            lock_free_forward_list<int> a;            a.push_front(2);            a.push_front(5);            int v = 0;            assert(a.pop_front(v));            assert(v == 5);            assert(a.pop_front(v));            assert(v == 2);            assert(a.empty());        }        DUMP;    }    static void test_04() {        {            lock_free_forward_list<int> a;            std::vector<std::thread> threads;            int threadCount = 5;            int perThreadElementCount = 1000;            for (int i = 0; i < threadCount; i++) {                threads.emplace_back([&]() {                    for (int j = 0; j < perThreadElementCount; j++) {                        a.push_front(j);                    }                });            }            for (auto &thread : threads) {                thread.join();            }            int totalElementCount = perThreadElementCount * threadCount;            for (int k = 0; k < totalElementCount; k++) {                int v = 0;                assert(a.pop_front(v));                std::cout << v <<  ;            }            assert(a.empty());        }        DUMP;    }    static void test_05() {        {            lock_free_forward_list<int> a;            std::vector<std::thread> threads;            for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {                threads.emplace_back([&a]() {                    for (int j = 0; j < 1000; j++) {                        int y = rand();                        a.push_front(y, std::memory_order_relaxed, std::memory_order_relaxed);                        std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::microseconds(rand() % 10));                        int x;                        a.pop_front(x, std::memory_order_relaxed, std::memory_order_relaxed);                        if (x == y) {                            std::cout << y;                        }                        else {                            std::cout << n;                        }                    }                });            }            for (auto &thread : threads) {                thread.join();            }            assert(a.empty());        }        DUMP;    }    static void test_06() {        {            lock_free_forward_list<int> a;            std::vector<std::thread> threads;            int threadCount = 5;            int perThreadElementCount = 1000;            for (int i = 0; i < threadCount; i++) {                threads.emplace_back([&a, i, perThreadElementCount]() {                    for (int j = 0; j < perThreadElementCount; j++) {                        a.push_front(j + i * perThreadElementCount);                    }                });            }            for (auto &thread : threads) {                thread.join();            }            std::set<int> remainingNumbers;            int totalElementCount = perThreadElementCount * threadCount;            for (int k = 0; k < totalElementCount; k++) {                remainingNumbers.insert(k);            }            for (int k = 0; k < totalElementCount; k++) {                int v;                assert(a.pop_front(v));                std::cout << v <<  ;                assert(remainingNumbers.erase(v));            }            assert(remainingNumbers.empty());            assert(a.empty());        }        DUMP;    }    static void test_07() {        {            lock_free_forward_list<int> a;            std::vector<std::thread> threads;            int threadCount = 5;            int perThreadElementCount = 1000;            int totalElementCount = perThreadElementCount * threadCount;            std::mutex mutex;            std::cout << Initializing lock_free_forward_list_tests::test_07\n;            std::set<int> remainingNumbers;            for (int k = 0; k < totalElementCount; k++) {                remainingNumbers.insert(k);            }            for (int i = 0; i < threadCount; i++) {                threads.emplace_back([&, i]() {                    for (int j = 0; j < perThreadElementCount; j++) {                        int y = j + i * perThreadElementCount;                        a.push_front(y, std::memory_order_relaxed, std::memory_order_relaxed);                        std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::microseconds(rand() % 50));                        int x;                        a.pop_front(x, std::memory_order_relaxed, std::memory_order_relaxed);                        {                            std::unique_lock<std::mutex> lock(mutex);                            assert(remainingNumbers.erase(x));                        }                        if (x == y) {                            std::cout << y;                        }                        else {                            std::cout << n;                        }                    }                });            }            for (auto &thread : threads) {                thread.join();            }            assert(a.empty());            assert(remainingNumbers.empty());        }        DUMP;    }    static void test_08() {        {            lock_free_forward_list<int> a;            std::vector<std::thread> threads;            int threadCount = 5;            int perThreadElementCount = 1000;            int totalElementCount = perThreadElementCount * threadCount;            std::mutex mutex;            std::set<int> remainingNumbers;            std::cout << Initializing lock_free_forward_list_tests::test_08\n;            for (int k = 0; k < totalElementCount; k++) {                remainingNumbers.insert(k);            }            for (int i = 0; i < threadCount; i++) {                threads.emplace_back([&, i]() {                    for (int j = 0; j < perThreadElementCount; j++) {                        int y = j + i * perThreadElementCount;                        a.push_front(y, std::memory_order_relaxed, std::memory_order_relaxed);                    }                });            }            for (int i = 0; i < threadCount; i++) {                threads.emplace_back([&, i]() {                    for (int j = 0; j < perThreadElementCount; j++) {                        int x;                        a.pop_front(x, std::memory_order_relaxed, std::memory_order_relaxed);                        {                            std::unique_lock<std::mutex> lock(mutex);                            assert(remainingNumbers.erase(x));                        }                        std::cout << x <<  ;                    }                });            }            for (auto &thread : threads) {                thread.join();            }            assert(a.empty());            assert(remainingNumbers.empty());        }        DUMP;    }    static void test_09() {        {            lock_free_forward_list<int> a;            a.push_front(2);            a.push_front(5);            auto i = a.begin();            assert(*i == 5);            i++;            assert(*i == 2);            i++;            assert(i == a.end());        }        DUMP;    }    static void test_10() {        {            lock_free_forward_list<int> a;            a.push_front(2);            auto i = a.begin();            assert(*i == 2);            a.push_front(5);            i++;            assert(i == a.end());        }        DUMP;    }    static void test_11() {        {            lock_free_forward_list<int> a;            a.push_front(2);            auto i = a.begin();            int v;            a.pop_front(v);            a.push_front(5);            auto j = a.begin();            assert(*i == 2);            assert(*j == 5);            i++;            assert(i == a.end());            j++;            assert(j == a.end());        }        DUMP;    }    static void test_12() {        {            lock_free_forward_list<int> a;            a.push_front(2);            a.push_front(5);            a.insert_after(a.begin(), 3);            auto i = a.begin();            assert(*i == 5);            i++;            assert(*i == 3);            i++;            assert(*i == 2);            i++;            assert(i == a.end());        }        DUMP;    }    static void test_13() {        {            lock_free_forward_list<int> a;            a.push_front(2);            a.push_front(3);            a.push_front(5);            auto i = a.begin();            assert(*i == 5);            i++;            int v;            a.erase_after(a.begin(), v);            assert(v == 3);            assert(*i == 3);            i++;            assert(i == a.end());            assert(*(++a.begin()) == 2);        }        DUMP;    }    static void test_14() {        {            std::cout << \ntest_14\n;            lock_free_forward_list<int> a;            for (int i = 0; i < 100000; i++) {                a.push_front(i);            }        }        DUMP;    }    static void test_15() {        {            lock_free_forward_list<int> a;            std::vector<std::thread> threads1;            std::vector<std::thread> threads2;            int const threadCount = 5;            int const perThreadOpCount = 100000;            bool done = false;            for (int i = 0; i < threadCount; i++) {                threads1.emplace_back([&, i]() {                    for (int j = 0; j < perThreadOpCount; j++) {                        int op = rand() % (perThreadOpCount / 100);                        if (op == 0) {                            std::cout << \n << a.clear() << \n;                        }                        else {                            a.push_front(rand() % 20, std::memory_order_relaxed, std::memory_order_relaxed);                        }                    }                });            }            for (int i = 0; i < threadCount; i++) {                threads2.emplace_back([&, i]() {                    auto iterator = a.begin();                    while (!done) {                        if (iterator != a.end()) {                            std::cout << *iterator <<  ;                        }                        if (iterator == a.end()) {                            iterator = a.begin();                        }                        else {                            ++iterator;                        }                    }                });            }            for (auto &thread : threads1) {                thread.join();            }            done = true;            for (auto &thread : threads2) {                thread.join();            }        }        DUMP;    }    //static void test_() {    //  {    //      lock_free_forward_list<int> a;    //  }    //  DUMP;    //}    static void test_all() {        for (int repeat = 0; repeat < 10; repeat++) {            test_01();            test_02();            test_03();            test_04();            test_05();            test_06();            test_07();            test_08();            test_09();            test_10();            test_11();            test_12();            test_13();            test_14();            test_15();        }    }};int main(int argc, char** argv){#ifdef _MSC_VER    _CrtSetDbgFlag(_CRTDBG_ALLOC_MEM_DF | _CRTDBG_LEAK_CHECK_DF);#endif    lock_free_forward_list_tests::test_all();    return 0;}
C++11 lock free collection similar to std::forward_list - follow-up
c++;c++11;thread safety;collections;lock free
In order to get your code to compile, I needed to add #include <vector>, #include <cassert>, and change <class T> to <class CT> as suggested below.inline void* lock_free_forward_list_get_deadDummy() {    static std::unique_ptr<void*> deadDummy_(new void* ());    return deadDummy_.get();}This is needlessly complicated (and confusing, because you reuse the name void* for both the return value and the unrelated type pointed-to by the return value). I recommendinline void* lock_free_forward_list_get_deadDummy() {    static int dummy;    return &dummy;}This gets you a globally unique void* value, without the overhead of dynamic memory allocation. Also, notice that the thread-safe initialization of deadDummy_ in your original code will take a lock (for example, via __cxa_guard_acquire/__cxa_guard_release on OSX) because it needs to ensure that new is invoked only once. The plain-old-data version I recommend will not take a lock. (Verify by looking at the generated assembly code with -O3 -S.)#define deadDummy ((node*)lock_free_forward_list_get_deadDummy())This pollutes the user's namespace. I'm a strong advocate for the use of C-style macros, but this is not an appropriate place for one. Just make a static member function and resign yourself to typing those extra parentheses ():static node* deadDummy() { return (node*)lock_free_forward_list_get_deadDummy(); }You could reduce your typing a lot more if you made static node deadDummy; a member of lock_free_forward_list<T>. I assume you wanted to avoid that bloat, so I will refrain from suggesting any refactor that would increase your memory footprint.template<class T>class ForwardIterator;Excellently correct! Although I'd recommend class CT instead of class T just to avoid confusion between the T in lock_free_forward_list<T> and the CT in lock_free_forward_list<T>::ForwardIterator<CT>. (These CTs will always be one or the other of T or const T.)EDITED TO ADD: in fact, Clang on OSX rejects the original code!test.cc:51:20: error: declaration of 'T' shadows template parameter    template<class T>                   ^T &operator*() { return current->value; }T &operator->() { return current->value; }ForwardIterator operator++()The last should return ForwardIterator& to avoid making an unnecessary copy, and the first two should be const.T &operator*() const { return current->value; }T &operator->() const { return current->value; }ForwardIterator& operator++()    friend void swap(ForwardIterator& a, ForwardIterator& b) NOEXCEPT    {        using std::swap; // bring in swap for built-in types        std::swap(a.current, b.current);    }You brought in std::swap for ADL, but then you didn't actually use ADL! You meantusing std::swap;swap(a.current, b.current);or simply (without ADL)std::swap(a.current, b.current);Consider making your ForwardIterator::operator== a template, so that l.begin() == l.cbegin() works. (Right now it doesn't work.) Audit your code for issues with comparison/assignment of const_iterators to iterators and vice versa.node(T const &value) : value(value), next(nullptr), referenceCount(1) {}node(T &&value) : value(std::move(value)), next(nullptr), referenceCount(1) {}template<class... U>node(U... params) : value(std::forward(params)...), next(nullptr), referenceCount(1) {}You're doing forwarding wrong. Remove these constructors, and replace them with a single correctly written forwarding constructor:template<class... U>node(U&&... params) : value(std::forward<U>(params)...), next(nullptr), referenceCount(1) {}Notice the added && and <U>. You should never ever use std::forward without angle brackets, and you should never use it on anything that isn't a forwarding reference.static void loseOwnership(node *&n, std::memory_order loadOrder, std::memory_order storeOrder) {I don't understand the point of passing around both loadOrder and storeOrder all the time, especially to methods such as loseOwnership() which don't use either of them (but instead use combine_memory_order(loadOrder, storeOrder)); and then in other places you hardcode memory_order_seq_cst, which seems to obviate all this messing around with memory orders in the first place. And then in methods such as exchange(), you allow passing in a memory order at runtime, even though I'm pretty sure it doesn't make any sense; if you passed in the wrong order by accident, your spinlock wouldn't work! What would this code look like if you just constant-propagated the memory orders through the code everywhere possible?See https://stackoverflow.com/questions/13941136/why-is-memory-order-given-as-a-runtime-argument-to-stdatomic-functions for more information on how C++11 expects you to use memory-order hints. I'm no expert myself, but I would recommend using the following traits idiom to enable compiler optimization:struct foo_order {    static constexpr std::memory_order load = std::memory_order_acquire;    static constexpr std::memory_order store = std::memory_order_release;    static constexpr std::memory_order combined = std::memory_order_seq_cst;};struct bar_order {    static constexpr std::memory_order load = std::memory_order_seq_cst;    static constexpr std::memory_order store = std::memory_order_relaxed;    static constexpr std::memory_order combined = std::memory_order_seq_cst;};template<class MemoryOrder>int some_operation(Foo& foo) {    int n = foo.load(MemoryOrder::load);    foo.fetch_sub(1, MemoryOrder::combined);    sub_operation<MemoryOrder>(foo);    return n;}... some_operation<foo_order>(myfoo); ...... some_operation<bar_order>(myfoo); ...This also lets you get rid of the confusing combine_memory_orders helper function, although you could keep it around as a constexpr function if you were really married to it.I haven't even started looking at the lock-free part of the code yet. If you make these changes and post a comment on my answer saying Look here for the new version, I'll happily take a closer look. The most bang for your buck at the moment will come from cleaning up that memory-order stuff; I don't think I would take another look until that stuff was simplified.In fact, could you post a cleaned-up version that just uses seq_cst throughout? Using anything other than seq_cst is a for experts only optimization, and you're clearly not that level of expert yet[*]... so I'd say you should start with all seq_cst all the time, and then once you have that working, we can proceed to clever memory-order optimizations.[*]  No offense intended, but the correct use of memory_order_relaxed IMHO requires several levels of guru-ness above the correct use of std::forward or ADL, and you're not even at that level yet (see above). Sure, the two things aren't exactly commensurable  you could be great at lockfree stuff and just not fully comfortable with template metaprogramming yet  but I'm playing the probabilities here.