Comment on need to MarkBufferDirty() if omitting DELAY_CHKPT_START.

nmisch · nmisch · commit 818013665259 · 2025-04-20T12:00:17.000-07:00
Blocking checkpoint phase 2 requires MarkBufferDirty() and BUFFER_LOCK_EXCLUSIVE; neither suffices by itself. transam/README documents this, citing SyncOneBuffer(). Update the DELAY_CHKPT_START documentation to say this. Expand the heap_inplace_update_and_unlock() comment that cites XLogSaveBufferForHint() as precedent, since heap_inplace_update_and_unlock() could have opted not to use DELAY_CHKPT_START. Commit 8e7e672 added DELAY_CHKPT_START to heap_inplace_update_and_unlock(). Since commit bc6bad8 reverted it in non-master branches, no back-patch. Discussion: https://postgr.es/m/20250406180054.26.nmisch@google.com
diff --git a/src/backend/access/heap/heapam.c b/src/backend/access/heap/heapam.c
@@ -6507,9 +6507,17 @@ heap_inplace_update_and_unlock(Relation relation,
 	 * [crash]
 	 * [recovery restores datfrozenxid w/o relfrozenxid]
 	 *
-	 * Like in MarkBufferDirtyHint() subroutine XLogSaveBufferForHint(), copy
-	 * the buffer to the stack before logging.  Here, that facilitates a FPI
-	 * of the post-mutation block before we accept other sessions seeing it.
+	 * Mimic MarkBufferDirtyHint() subroutine XLogSaveBufferForHint().
+	 * Specifically, use DELAY_CHKPT_START, and copy the buffer to the stack.
+	 * The stack copy facilitates a FPI of the post-mutation block before we
+	 * accept other sessions seeing it.  DELAY_CHKPT_START allows us to
+	 * XLogInsert() before MarkBufferDirty().  Since XLogSaveBufferForHint()
+	 * can operate under BUFFER_LOCK_SHARED, it can't avoid DELAY_CHKPT_START.
+	 * This function, however, likely could avoid it with the following order
+	 * of operations: MarkBufferDirty(), XLogInsert(), memcpy().  Opt to use
+	 * DELAY_CHKPT_START here, too, as a way to have fewer distinct code
+	 * patterns to analyze.  Inplace update isn't so frequent that it should
+	 * pursue the small optimization of skipping DELAY_CHKPT_START.
 	 */
 	Assert((MyProc->delayChkptFlags & DELAY_CHKPT_START) == 0);
 	START_CRIT_SECTION();
diff --git a/src/include/storage/proc.h b/src/include/storage/proc.h
@@ -110,10 +110,10 @@ extern PGDLLIMPORT int FastPathLockGroupsPerBackend;
  * is inserted prior to the new redo point, the corresponding data changes will
  * also be flushed to disk before the checkpoint can complete. (In the
  * extremely common case where the data being modified is in shared buffers
- * and we acquire an exclusive content lock on the relevant buffers before
- * writing WAL, this mechanism is not needed, because phase 2 will block
- * until we release the content lock and then flush the modified data to
- * disk.)
+ * and we acquire an exclusive content lock and MarkBufferDirty() on the
+ * relevant buffers before writing WAL, this mechanism is not needed, because
+ * phase 2 will block until we release the content lock and then flush the
+ * modified data to disk.  See transam/README and SyncOneBuffer().)
  *
  * Setting DELAY_CHKPT_COMPLETE prevents the system from moving from phase 2
  * to phase 3. This is useful if we are performing a WAL-logged operation that
