http://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=55492
Bug #: 55492 Summary: __atomic_load doesn't match ACQUIRE memory model Classification: Unclassified Product: gcc Version: 4.8.0 Status: UNCONFIRMED Severity: normal Priority: P3 Component: target AssignedTo: unassig...@gcc.gnu.org ReportedBy: yvan.r...@linaro.org Created attachment 28796 --> http://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/attachment.cgi?id=28796 Generic expansion patch proposal Compiling this code for ARMv7 int v; int foo() { return __atomic_load_n (&v, __ATOMIC_ACQUIRE); } generates a data memory barrier defore the load: foo: movw r3, #:lower16:v movt r3, #:upper16:v dmb sy ldr r0, [r3, #0] bx lr But, the `Acquire’ semantics imply that no reads in the current thread dependent on the value currently loaded can be reordered before this load. Thus, the barrier needs to be after the load and not before. The issue seems to be in expand_atomic_load which put a memory fence before the load in any memory model. The attached patch fixes the problem.