Lock-Free Programming, Atomics, and the C++ Memory Model
Engineer ultra-low-latency concurrency: std::atomic operations, Compare-And-Swap (CAS), memory orderings (relaxed, acquire/release, seq_cst), and Project 4: Lock-Free Ring Buffer.
Multi-threading and hardware cache line architectures
Expertise in hardware memory models, std::atomic, CAS loops, and Acquire-Release memory orderings.
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Every lesson builds on the one before it. Open any lesson to read the explanation, run the examples, and try the practice challenges.
- 11.01Hardware Memory Models: Store Buffers, Memory Barriers, and Out-of-Order Execution4 min
Explore CPU micro-architectures: instruction pipelining, speculative out-of-order execution, Store Buffers, and hardware memory barriers (mfence).
- 11.02Atomic Operations and Compare-And-Swap (CAS) Mechanics4 min
Master lock-free fundamentals: std::atomic<T>, atomic read-modify-write instructions, Compare-And-Swap (compare_exchange_weak vs strong), and ABA problem mitigation.
- 11.03The C++ Memory Model: Sequentially Consistent, Acquire-Release, and Relaxed4 min
Deconstruct the six C++ memory orderings: std::memory_order_seq_cst, acquire-release synchronizes-with relationships, and low-latency relaxed atomics.
- 11.04Capstone Project 4: Single-Producer Single-Consumer (SPSC) Lock-Free Ring BufferProject4 min
Architect an ultra-low-latency Single-Producer Single-Consumer (SPSC) Lock-Free Ring Buffer utilizing power-of-two circular indexing, cache-line alignment, and Acquire-Release atomics.
Ready to move on?
Deliver Capstone Project 4: Single-Producer Single-Consumer (SPSC) Lock-Free Ring Buffer.
Open the module self-check