Subject: [PATCH] attr: convert to new threadsafe API

From: Stefan Beller <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 27 Oct 2016 15:15:50 -0700

This revamps the API of the attr subsystem to be thread safe.
Before we had the question and its results in one struct type.
The typical usage of the API was

    static struct git_attr_check *check;

    if (!check)
        check = git_attr_check_initl("text", NULL);

    git_check_attr(path, check);
    act_on(check->value[0]);

This has a couple of issues when it comes to thread safety:

* the initialization is racy in this implementation. To make it
  thread safe, we need to acquire a mutex, such that only one
  thread is executing the code in git_attr_check_initl.
  As we do not want to introduce a mutex at each call site,
  this is best done in the attr code. However to do so, we need
  to have access to the `check` variable, i.e. the API has to
  look like
    git_attr_check_initl(struct git_attr_check**, ...);
  Then one of the threads calling git_attr_check_initl will
  acquire the mutex and init the `check`, while all other threads
  will wait on the mutex just to realize they're late to the
  party and they'll return with no work done.

* While the check for attributes to be questioned only need to
  be initalized once as that part will be read only after its
  initialisation, the answer may be different for each path.
  Because of that we need to decouple the check and the answer,
  such that each thread can obtain an answer for the path it
  is currently processing.

This commit changes the API and adds locking in
git_attr_check_initl that provides the thread safety for constructing
`struct git_attr_check`.

The usage of the new API will be:

    /*
     * The initl call will thread-safely check whether the
     * struct git_attr_check has been initialized. We only
     * want to do the initialization work once, hence we do
     * that work inside a thread safe environment.
     */
    static struct git_attr_check *check;
    git_attr_check_initl(&check, "text", NULL);

    /* We're just asking for one attribute "text". */
    git_attr_result myresult[1];

    /* Perform the check and act on it: */
    git_check_attr(path, check, myresult);
    act_on(myresult[0].value);

    /*
     * No need to free the check as it is static, hence doesn't leak
     * memory. The result is also static, so no need to free there either.
     */

Signed-off-by: Stefan Beller <[email-masked]>
---

* use attr_start on Windows to dynamically initialize the Single Big Attr Mutex
* rewrote the documentation by Junios guiding comments
* interned struct git_attr, i.e. you hand "const char *" to the attr API, and
  internally it will make sense of it. When asking git_all_attrs, however you
  still need to know about git_attrs as you need to find out the name of the
  attribute via `git_attr_name(struct git_attr *)`.
  
If there are no other huge design discussions, I'll reroll the whole series.

Thanks,
Stefan

 Documentation/technical/api-gitattributes.txt | 104 +++++++++++-------
 archive.c                                     |  11 +-
 attr.c                                        | 150 ++++++++++++++++++--------
 attr.h                                        |  76 +++++++------
 builtin/check-attr.c                          |  47 ++++----
 builtin/pack-objects.c                        |  16 +--
 compat/mingw.c                                |   3 +
 convert.c                                     |  40 +++----
 ll-merge.c                                    |  24 +++--
 userdiff.c                                    |  16 +--
 ws.c                                          |   8 +-
 11 files changed, 305 insertions(+), 190 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/technical/api-gitattributes.txt b/Documentation/technical/api-gitattributes.txt
index 92fc32a..ba04c30 100644
--- a/Documentation/technical/api-gitattributes.txt
+++ b/Documentation/technical/api-gitattributes.txt
@@ -16,15 +16,19 @@ Data Structure
 	of no interest to the calling programs.  The name of the
 	attribute can be retrieved by calling `git_attr_name()`.
 
-`struct git_attr_check_elem`::
-
-	This structure represents one attribute and its value.
-
 `struct git_attr_check`::
 
-	This structure represents a collection of `git_attr_check_elem`.
+	This structure represents a collection of `struct git_attrs`.
 	It is passed to `git_check_attr()` function, specifying the
-	attributes to check, and receives their values.
+	attributes to check, and receives their values into a corresponding
+	`struct git_attr_result`.
+
+`struct git_attr_result`::
+
+	This structure represents one results for a check, such that an
+	array of `struct git_attr_results` corresponds to a
+	`struct git_attr_check`. The answers given in that array are in
+	the the same order as the check struct.

 Attribute Values
@@ -32,7 +36,7 @@ Attribute Values
 
 An attribute for a path can be in one of four states: Set, Unset,
 Unspecified or set to a string, and `.value` member of `struct
-git_attr_check` records it.  There are three macros to check these:
+git_attr_result` records it.  There are three macros to check these:
 
 `ATTR_TRUE()`::
 
@@ -53,19 +57,32 @@ value of the attribute for the path.
 Querying Specific Attributes
 ----------------------------
 
-* Prepare `struct git_attr_check` using git_attr_check_initl()
+* Prepare a `struct git_attr_check` using `git_attr_check_initl()`
   function, enumerating the names of attributes whose values you are
   interested in, terminated with a NULL pointer.  Alternatively, an
-  empty `struct git_attr_check` can be prepared by calling
-  `git_attr_check_alloc()` function and then attributes you want to
-  ask about can be added to it with `git_attr_check_append()`
-  function.
-
-* Call `git_check_attr()` to check the attributes for the path.
-
-* Inspect `git_attr_check` structure to see how each of the
-  attribute in the array is defined for the path.
-
+  empty `struct git_attr_check` as allocated by git_attr_check_alloc()
+  can be prepared by calling `git_attr_check_alloc()` function and
+  then attributes you want to ask about can be added to it with
+  `git_attr_check_append()` function.
+  Both ways with `git_attr_check_initl()` as well as the
+  alloc and append route are thread safe, i.e. you can call it
+  from different threads at the same time; when check determines
+  the initialization is still needed, the threads will use a
+  single global mutex to perform the initialization just once, the
+  others will wait on the the thread to actually perform the
+  initialization.
+
+* Allocate an array of `struct git_attr_result` either on the stack
+  or via `git_attr_result_alloc` on the heap when the result size
+  is not known at compile time.
+
+* Call `git_check_attr()` to check the attributes for the path,
+  the given `git_attr_result` will be filled with the result.
+  You must not change the `struct git_attr_check` after calling
+  `git_check_attr()`.
+
+* Inspect each `git_attr_result` structure to see how
+  each of the attribute in the array is defined for the path.
 
 Example
 -------
@@ -76,28 +93,23 @@ To see how attributes "crlf" and "ident" are set for different paths.
   we are checking two attributes):
 
 ------------
-static struct git_attr_check *check;
-static void setup_check(void)
-{
-	if (check)
-		return; /* already done */
-	check = git_attr_check_initl("crlf", "ident", NULL);
-}
+	static struct git_attr_check *check;
+	git_attr_check_initl(&check, "crlf", "ident", NULL);
 ------------
 
 . Call `git_check_attr()` with the prepared `struct git_attr_check`:
 
 ------------
 	const char *path;
+	struct git_attr_result result[2];
 
-	setup_check();
-	git_check_attr(path, check);
+	git_check_attr(path, check, result);
 ------------
 
-. Act on `.value` member of the result, left in `check->check[]`:
+. Act on `result.value[]`:
 
 ------------
-	const char *value = check->check[0].value;
+	const char *value = result.value[0];
 
 	if (ATTR_TRUE(value)) {
 		The attribute is Set, by listing only the name of the
@@ -123,12 +135,15 @@ the first step in the above would be different.
 static struct git_attr_check *check;
 static void setup_check(const char **argv)
 {
+	if (check)
+		return; /* already done */
 	check = git_attr_check_alloc();
 	while (*argv) {
 		struct git_attr *attr = git_attr(*argv);
 		git_attr_check_append(check, attr);
 		argv++;
 	}
+	struct git_attr_result *result = git_attr_result_alloc(check);
 }
 ------------
 
@@ -138,17 +153,30 @@ Querying All Attributes
 
 To get the values of all attributes associated with a file:
 
-* Prepare an empty `git_attr_check` structure by calling
-  `git_attr_check_alloc()`.
+* Setup a local variables for the question
+  `struct git_attr_check` as well as a pointer where the result
+  `struct git_attr_result` will be stored. Both should be initialized
+  to NULL.
+
+------------
+  struct git_attr_check *check = NULL;
+  struct git_attr_result *result = NULL;
+------------
+
+* Call `git_all_attrs()`.
 
-* Call `git_all_attrs()`, which populates the `git_attr_check`
-  with the attributes attached to the path.
+------------
+  git_all_attrs(full_path, &check, &result);
+------------
 
-* Iterate over the `git_attr_check.check[]` array to examine
-  the attribute names and values.  The name of the attribute
-  described by a  `git_attr_check.check[]` object can be retrieved via
-  `git_attr_name(check->check[i].attr)`.  (Please note that no items
+* Iterate over the `git_attr_check.attr[]` array to examine the
+  attribute names.  The name of the attribute described by a
+  `git_attr_check.attr[]` object can be retrieved via
+  `git_attr_name(check->attr[i])`.  (Please note that no items
   will be returned for unset attributes, so `ATTR_UNSET()` will return
   false for all returned `git_array_check` objects.)
+  The respective value for an attribute can be found in the same
+  index position in of `git_attr_result`.
 
-* Free the `git_array_check` by calling `git_attr_check_free()`.
+* Clear the variables by calling `git_attr_check_clear()` and
+  `git_attr_result_free()`.
diff --git a/archive.c b/archive.c
index 11e3951..65bc6b7 100644
--- a/archive.c
+++ b/archive.c
@@ -111,6 +111,7 @@ static int write_archive_entry(const unsigned char *sha1, const char *base,
 	struct archiver_args *args = c->args;
 	write_archive_entry_fn_t write_entry = c->write_entry;
 	static struct git_attr_check *check;
+	struct git_attr_result result[2];
 	const char *path_without_prefix;
 	int err;
 
@@ -124,12 +125,12 @@ static int write_archive_entry(const unsigned char *sha1, const char *base,
 		strbuf_addch(&path, '/');
 	path_without_prefix = path.buf + args->baselen;
 
-	if (!check)
-		check = git_attr_check_initl("export-ignore", "export-subst", NULL);
-	if (!git_check_attr(path_without_prefix, check)) {
-		if (ATTR_TRUE(check->check[0].value))
+	git_attr_check_initl(&check, "export-ignore", "export-subst", NULL);
+
+	if (!git_check_attr(path_without_prefix, check, result)) {
+		if (ATTR_TRUE(result[0].value))
 			return 0;
-		args->convert = ATTR_TRUE(check->check[1].value);
+		args->convert = ATTR_TRUE(result[1].value);
 	}
 
 	if (S_ISDIR(mode) || S_ISGITLINK(mode)) {
diff --git a/attr.c b/attr.c
index 881bdfa..ea3d742 100644
--- a/attr.c
+++ b/attr.c
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 #include "dir.h"
 #include "utf8.h"
 #include "quote.h"
+#include "thread-utils.h"
 
 const char git_attr__true[] = "(builtin)true";
 const char git_attr__false[] = "\0(builtin)false";
@@ -46,6 +47,21 @@ struct git_attr {
 static int attr_nr;
 static struct git_attr *(git_attr_hash[HASHSIZE]);
 
+#ifndef NO_PTHREADS
+
+static pthread_mutex_t attr_mutex = PTHREAD_MUTEX_INITIALIZER;
+#define attr_lock()		pthread_mutex_lock(&attr_mutex)
+#define attr_unlock()		pthread_mutex_unlock(&attr_mutex)
+void attr_start(void) { pthread_mutex_init(&attr_mutex, NULL); }
+
+#else
+
+#define attr_lock()		(void)0
+#define attr_unlock()		(void)0
+void attr_start(void) {;}
+
+#endif /* NO_PTHREADS */
+
 /*
  * NEEDSWORK: maybe-real, maybe-macro are not property of
  * an attribute, as it depends on what .gitattributes are
@@ -55,6 +71,16 @@ static struct git_attr *(git_attr_hash[HASHSIZE]);
  */
 static int cannot_trust_maybe_real;
 
+/*
+ * Send one or more git_attr_check to git_check_attrs(), and
+ * each 'value' member tells what its value is.
+ * Unset one is returned as NULL.
+ */
+struct git_attr_check_elem {
+	const struct git_attr *attr;
+	const char *value;
+};
+
 /* NEEDSWORK: This will become per git_attr_check */
 static struct git_attr_check_elem *check_all_attr;
 
@@ -781,7 +807,7 @@ static int macroexpand_one(int nr, int rem)
 
 static int attr_check_is_dynamic(const struct git_attr_check *check)
 {
-	return (void *)(check->check) != (void *)(check + 1);
+	return (void *)(check->attr) != (void *)(check + 1);
 }
 
 static void empty_attr_check_elems(struct git_attr_check *check)
@@ -799,7 +825,9 @@ static void empty_attr_check_elems(struct git_attr_check *check)
  * any and all attributes that are visible are collected in it.
  */
 static void collect_some_attrs(const char *path, int pathlen,
-			       struct git_attr_check *check, int collect_all)
+			       struct git_attr_check *check,
+			       struct git_attr_result **result,
+			       int collect_all)
 
 {
 	struct attr_stack *stk;
@@ -825,13 +853,11 @@ static void collect_some_attrs(const char *path, int pathlen,
 		check_all_attr[i].value = ATTR__UNKNOWN;
 
 	if (!collect_all && !cannot_trust_maybe_real) {
-		struct git_attr_check_elem *celem = check->check;
-
 		rem = 0;
 		for (i = 0; i < check->check_nr; i++) {
-			if (!celem[i].attr->maybe_real) {
+			if (!check->attr[i]->maybe_real) {
 				struct git_attr_check_elem *c;
-				c = check_all_attr + celem[i].attr->attr_nr;
+				c = check_all_attr + check->attr[i]->attr_nr;
 				c->value = ATTR__UNSET;
 				rem++;
 			}
@@ -845,38 +871,53 @@ static void collect_some_attrs(const char *path, int pathlen,
 		rem = fill(path, pathlen, basename_offset, stk, rem);
 
 	if (collect_all) {
-		empty_attr_check_elems(check);
+		int check_nr = 0, check_alloc = 0;
+		const char **res = NULL;
+
 		for (i = 0; i < attr_nr; i++) {
 			const struct git_attr *attr = check_all_attr[i].attr;
 			const char *value = check_all_attr[i].value;
 			if (value == ATTR__UNSET || value == ATTR__UNKNOWN)
 				continue;
-			git_attr_check_append(check, attr)->value = value;
+
+			ALLOC_GROW(check->attr, check->check_nr + 1, check->check_alloc);
+			check->attr[check->check_nr++] = attr;
+
+			ALLOC_GROW(res, check_nr + 1, check_alloc);
+			res[check_nr++] = value;
 		}
+
+		*result = git_attr_result_alloc(check);
+		for (i = 0; i < check->check_nr; i++)
+			(*result)[i].value = res[i];
+
+		free(res);
 	}
 }
 
 static int git_check_attrs(const char *path, int pathlen,
-			   struct git_attr_check *check)
+			   struct git_attr_check *check,
+			   struct git_attr_result *result)
 {
 	int i;
-	struct git_attr_check_elem *celem = check->check;
 
-	collect_some_attrs(path, pathlen, check, 0);
+	collect_some_attrs(path, pathlen, check, &result, 0);
 
 	for (i = 0; i < check->check_nr; i++) {
-		const char *value = check_all_attr[celem[i].attr->attr_nr].value;
+		const char *value = check_all_attr[check->attr[i]->attr_nr].value;
 		if (value == ATTR__UNKNOWN)
 			value = ATTR__UNSET;
-		celem[i].value = value;
+		result[i].value = value;
 	}
 
 	return 0;
 }
 
-void git_all_attrs(const char *path, struct git_attr_check *check)
+void git_all_attrs(const char *path,
+		   struct git_attr_check *check,
+		   struct git_attr_result **result)
 {
-	collect_some_attrs(path, strlen(path), check, 1);
+	collect_some_attrs(path, strlen(path), check, result, 1);
 }
 
 void git_attr_set_direction(enum git_attr_direction new, struct index_state *istate)
@@ -892,36 +933,40 @@ void git_attr_set_direction(enum git_attr_direction new, struct index_state *ist
 	use_index = istate;
 }
 
-static int git_check_attr_counted(const char *path, int pathlen,
-				  struct git_attr_check *check)
+int git_check_attr(const char *path,
+		    struct git_attr_check *check,
+		    struct git_attr_result *result)
 {
 	check->finalized = 1;
-	return git_check_attrs(path, pathlen, check);
+	return git_check_attrs(path, strlen(path), check, result);
 }
 
-int git_check_attr(const char *path, struct git_attr_check *check)
+void git_attr_check_initl(struct git_attr_check **check_,
+			  const char *one, ...)
 {
-	return git_check_attr_counted(path, strlen(path), check);
-}
-
-struct git_attr_check *git_attr_check_initl(const char *one, ...)
-{
-	struct git_attr_check *check;
 	int cnt;
 	va_list params;
 	const char *param;
+	struct git_attr_check *check;
+
+	attr_lock();
+	if (*check_) {
+		attr_unlock();
+		return;
+	}
 
 	va_start(params, one);
 	for (cnt = 1; (param = va_arg(params, const char *)) != NULL; cnt++)
 		;
 	va_end(params);
+
 	check = xcalloc(1,
-			sizeof(*check) + cnt * sizeof(*(check->check)));
+			sizeof(*check) + cnt * sizeof(*(check->attr)));
 	check->check_nr = cnt;
 	check->finalized = 1;
-	check->check = (struct git_attr_check_elem *)(check + 1);
+	check->attr = (const struct git_attr **)(check + 1);
 
-	check->check[0].attr = git_attr(one);
+	check->attr[0] = git_attr(one);
 	va_start(params, one);
 	for (cnt = 1; cnt < check->check_nr; cnt++) {
 		struct git_attr *attr;
@@ -932,29 +977,48 @@ struct git_attr_check *git_attr_check_initl(const char *one, ...)
 		attr = git_attr(param);
 		if (!attr)
 			die("BUG: %s: not a valid attribute name", param);
-		check->check[cnt].attr = attr;
+		check->attr[cnt] = attr;
 	}
 	va_end(params);
-	return check;
+	*check_ = check;
+	attr_unlock();
 }
 
-struct git_attr_check *git_attr_check_alloc(void)
+void git_attr_check_alloc(struct git_attr_check **check)
 {
-	return xcalloc(1, sizeof(struct git_attr_check));
+	attr_lock();
+	if (!*check)
+		*check = xcalloc(1, sizeof(struct git_attr_check));
+
+	attr_unlock();
 }
 
-struct git_attr_check_elem *git_attr_check_append(struct git_attr_check *check,
-						  const struct git_attr *attr)
+struct git_attr_result *git_attr_result_alloc(struct git_attr_check *check)
 {
-	struct git_attr_check_elem *elem;
+	return xcalloc(1, sizeof(struct git_attr_result) * check->check_nr);
+}
+
+void git_attr_check_append(struct git_attr_check *check,
+			   const char *name, int len)
+{
+	int i;
+	struct git_attr *attr;
 	if (check->finalized)
 		die("BUG: append after git_attr_check structure is finalized");
 	if (!attr_check_is_dynamic(check))
 		die("BUG: appending to a statically initialized git_attr_check");
-	ALLOC_GROW(check->check, check->check_nr + 1, check->check_alloc);
-	elem = &check->check[check->check_nr++];
-	elem->attr = attr;
-	return elem;
+	attr_lock();
+
+	attr = git_attr_counted(name, len);
+
+	for (i = 0; i < check->check_nr; i++)
+		if (check->attr[i] == attr)
+			break;
+	if (i == check->check_nr) {
+		ALLOC_GROW(check->attr, check->check_nr + 1, check->check_alloc);
+		check->attr[check->check_nr++] = attr;
+	}
+	attr_unlock();
 }
 
 void git_attr_check_clear(struct git_attr_check *check)
@@ -962,12 +1026,12 @@ void git_attr_check_clear(struct git_attr_check *check)
 	empty_attr_check_elems(check);
 	if (!attr_check_is_dynamic(check))
 		die("BUG: clearing a statically initialized git_attr_check");
-	free(check->check);
+	free(check->attr);
 	check->check_alloc = 0;
 }
 
-void git_attr_check_free(struct git_attr_check *check)
+void git_attr_result_free(struct git_attr_result *result)
 {
-	git_attr_check_clear(check);
-	free(check);
+	/* No need to free values as they are interned. */
+	free(result);
 }
diff --git a/attr.h b/attr.h
index 292d56f..381eba9 100644
--- a/attr.h
+++ b/attr.h
@@ -1,17 +1,14 @@
 #ifndef ATTR_H
 #define ATTR_H
 
-/* An attribute is a pointer to this opaque structure */
-struct git_attr;
-
 /*
- * Given a string, return the gitattribute object that
- * corresponds to it.
+ * Must be called on platforms that do not support static initialisation
+ * of mutexes.
  */
-extern struct git_attr *git_attr(const char *);
+extern void attr_start(void);
 
-/* The same, but with counted string */
-extern struct git_attr *git_attr_counted(const char *, size_t);
+/* An attribute is a pointer to this opaque structure */
+struct git_attr;
 
 /*
  * Return the name of the attribute represented by the argument.  The
@@ -32,44 +29,53 @@ extern const char git_attr__false[];
 #define ATTR_FALSE(v) ((v) == git_attr__false)
 #define ATTR_UNSET(v) ((v) == NULL)
 
-/*
- * Send one or more git_attr_check to git_check_attrs(), and
- * each 'value' member tells what its value is.
- * Unset one is returned as NULL.
- */
-struct git_attr_check_elem {
-	const struct git_attr *attr;
-	const char *value;
-};
-
 struct git_attr_check {
 	int finalized;
 	int check_nr;
 	int check_alloc;
-	struct git_attr_check_elem *check;
+	const struct git_attr **attr;
 };
+#define GIT_ATTR_CHECK_INIT {0, 0, 0, NULL}
 
-extern struct git_attr_check *git_attr_check_initl(const char *, ...);
-extern int git_check_attr(const char *path, struct git_attr_check *);
+struct git_attr_result {
+	const char *value;
+};
 
-extern struct git_attr_check *git_attr_check_alloc(void);
-extern struct git_attr_check_elem *git_attr_check_append(struct git_attr_check *, const struct git_attr *);
+/*
+ * Initialize the `git_attr_check` via one of the following three functions:
+ *
+ * git_attr_check_alloc  allocates an empty check,
+ * git_attr_check_append add an attribute to the given git_attr_check
+ *
+ * git_all_attrs         allocates a check and fills in all attributes that
+ *                       are set for the given path.
+ * git_attr_check_initl  takes a pointer to where the check will be initialized,
+ *                       followed by all attributes that are to be checked.
+ *                       This makes it potentially thread safe as it could
+ *                       internally have a mutex for that memory location.
+ *                       Currently it is not thread safe!
+ */
+extern void git_attr_check_alloc(struct git_attr_check **);
+extern struct git_attr_result *git_attr_result_alloc(struct git_attr_check *check);
+
+extern void git_attr_check_append(struct git_attr_check *,
+				  const char *, int);
+extern void git_attr_check_initl(struct git_attr_check **,
+				 const char *, ...);
+
+extern void git_all_attrs(const char *path,
+			  struct git_attr_check *,
+			  struct git_attr_result **);
+
+/* Query a path for its attributes */
+extern int git_check_attr(const char *path,
+			  struct git_attr_check *,
+			  struct git_attr_result *result);
 
 extern void git_attr_check_clear(struct git_attr_check *);
-extern void git_attr_check_free(struct git_attr_check *);
 
-/*
- * Return the name of the attribute represented by the argument.  The
- * return value is a pointer to a null-delimited string that is part
- * of the internal data structure; it should not be modified or freed.
- */
-extern const char *git_attr_name(const struct git_attr *);
+extern void git_attr_result_free(struct git_attr_result *);
 
-/*
- * Retrieve all attributes that apply to the specified path.
- * check holds the attributes and their values.
- */
-void git_all_attrs(const char *path, struct git_attr_check *check);
 
 enum git_attr_direction {
 	GIT_ATTR_CHECKIN,
diff --git a/builtin/check-attr.c b/builtin/check-attr.c
index ec61476..6b9e746 100644
--- a/builtin/check-attr.c
+++ b/builtin/check-attr.c
@@ -24,13 +24,14 @@ static const struct option check_attr_options[] = {
 	OPT_END()
 };
 
-static void output_attr(struct git_attr_check *check, const char *file)
+static void output_attr(struct git_attr_check *check,
+			struct git_attr_result *result, const char *file)
 {
 	int j;
 	int cnt = check->check_nr;
 
 	for (j = 0; j < cnt; j++) {
-		const char *value = check->check[j].value;
+		const char *value = result[j].value;
 
 		if (ATTR_TRUE(value))
 			value = "set";
@@ -44,11 +45,11 @@ static void output_attr(struct git_attr_check *check, const char *file)
 			       "%s%c" /* attrname */
 			       "%s%c" /* attrvalue */,
 			       file, 0,
-			       git_attr_name(check->check[j].attr), 0, value, 0);
+			       git_attr_name(check->attr[j]), 0, value, 0);
 		} else {
 			quote_c_style(file, NULL, stdout, 0);
 			printf(": %s: %s\n",
-			       git_attr_name(check->check[j].attr), value);
+			       git_attr_name(check->attr[j]), value);
 		}
 	}
 }
@@ -59,16 +60,20 @@ static void check_attr(const char *prefix,
 {
 	char *full_path =
 		prefix_path(prefix, prefix ? strlen(prefix) : 0, file);
+	struct git_attr_check local_check = GIT_ATTR_CHECK_INIT;
+	struct git_attr_result *result = NULL;
+
 	if (check != NULL) {
-		if (git_check_attr(full_path, check))
-			die("git_check_attr died");
-		output_attr(check, file);
+		result = git_attr_result_alloc(check);
+		git_check_attr(full_path, check, result);
 	} else {
-		check = git_attr_check_alloc();
-		git_all_attrs(full_path, check);
-		output_attr(check, file);
-		git_attr_check_free(check);
+		git_all_attrs(full_path, &local_check, &result);
+		check = &local_check;
 	}
+	output_attr(check, result, file);
+	git_attr_check_clear(&local_check);
+
+	git_attr_result_free(result);
 	free(full_path);
 }
 
@@ -102,7 +107,7 @@ static NORETURN void error_with_usage(const char *msg)
 
 int cmd_check_attr(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 {
-	struct git_attr_check *check;
+	struct git_attr_check *check = NULL;
 	int cnt, i, doubledash, filei;
 
 	if (!is_bare_repository())
@@ -162,16 +167,16 @@ int cmd_check_attr(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 			error_with_usage("No file specified");
 	}
 
-	if (all_attrs) {
-		check = NULL;
-	} else {
-		check = git_attr_check_alloc();
+	if (!all_attrs) {
+		git_attr_check_alloc(&check);
 		for (i = 0; i < cnt; i++) {
-			struct git_attr *a = git_attr(argv[i]);
-			if (!a)
-				return error("%s: not a valid attribute name",
-					     argv[i]);
-			git_attr_check_append(check, a);
+			if (!attr_name_valid(argv[i], strlen(argv[i]))) {
+				struct strbuf sb = STRBUF_INIT;
+				invalid_attr_name_message(&sb, argv[i],
+							  strlen(argv[i]));
+				return error("%s", strbuf_detach(&sb, NULL));
+			}
+			git_attr_check_append(check, argv[i], strlen(argv[i]));
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/builtin/pack-objects.c b/builtin/pack-objects.c
index 3918c07..3751836 100644
--- a/builtin/pack-objects.c
+++ b/builtin/pack-objects.c
@@ -899,14 +899,16 @@ static void write_pack_file(void)
 static int no_try_delta(const char *path)
 {
 	static struct git_attr_check *check;
+	int ret = 0;
+	struct git_attr_result result[1];
 
-	if (!check)
-		check = git_attr_check_initl("delta", NULL);
-	if (git_check_attr(path, check))
-		return 0;
-	if (ATTR_FALSE(check->check[0].value))
-		return 1;
-	return 0;
+	git_attr_check_initl(&check, "delta", NULL);
+
+	if (!git_check_attr(path, check, result)) {
+		if (ATTR_FALSE(result[0].value))
+			ret = 1;
+	}
+	return ret;
 }
 
 /*
diff --git a/compat/mingw.c b/compat/mingw.c
index 3fbfda5..9173709 100644
--- a/compat/mingw.c
+++ b/compat/mingw.c
@@ -2232,6 +2232,9 @@ void mingw_startup(void)
 	/* initialize critical section for waitpid pinfo_t list */
 	InitializeCriticalSection(&pinfo_cs);
 
+	/* initialize critical sections in the attr code */
+	attr_start();
+
 	/* set up default file mode and file modes for stdin/out/err */
 	_fmode = _O_BINARY;
 	_setmode(_fileno(stdin), _O_BINARY);
diff --git a/convert.c b/convert.c
index 4eca0b5..6feffa3 100644
--- a/convert.c
+++ b/convert.c
@@ -722,9 +722,9 @@ static int ident_to_worktree(const char *path, const char *src, size_t len,
 	return 1;
 }
 
-static enum crlf_action git_path_check_crlf(struct git_attr_check_elem *check)
+static enum crlf_action git_path_check_crlf(struct git_attr_result *result)
 {
-	const char *value = check->value;
+	const char *value = result->value;
 
 	if (ATTR_TRUE(value))
 		return CRLF_TEXT;
@@ -739,9 +739,9 @@ static enum crlf_action git_path_check_crlf(struct git_attr_check_elem *check)
 	return CRLF_UNDEFINED;
 }
 
-static enum eol git_path_check_eol(struct git_attr_check_elem *check)
+static enum eol git_path_check_eol(struct git_attr_result *result)
 {
-	const char *value = check->value;
+	const char *value = result->value;
 
 	if (ATTR_UNSET(value))
 		;
@@ -752,9 +752,9 @@ static enum eol git_path_check_eol(struct git_attr_check_elem *check)
 	return EOL_UNSET;
 }
 
-static struct convert_driver *git_path_check_convert(struct git_attr_check_elem *check)
+static struct convert_driver *git_path_check_convert(struct git_attr_result *result)
 {
-	const char *value = check->value;
+	const char *value = result->value;
 	struct convert_driver *drv;
 
 	if (ATTR_TRUE(value) || ATTR_FALSE(value) || ATTR_UNSET(value))
@@ -765,9 +765,9 @@ static struct convert_driver *git_path_check_convert(struct git_attr_check_elem
 	return NULL;
 }
 
-static int git_path_check_ident(struct git_attr_check_elem *check)
+static int git_path_check_ident(struct git_attr_result *result)
 {
-	const char *value = check->value;
+	const char *value = result->value;
 
 	return !!ATTR_TRUE(value);
 }
@@ -782,25 +782,27 @@ struct conv_attrs {
 static void convert_attrs(struct conv_attrs *ca, const char *path)
 {
 	static struct git_attr_check *check;
+	static int init_user_convert_tail;
+	struct git_attr_result result[5];
 
-	if (!check) {
-		check = git_attr_check_initl("crlf", "ident",
-					     "filter", "eol", "text",
-					     NULL);
+	git_attr_check_initl(&check, "crlf", "ident", "filter",
+			     "eol", "text", NULL);
+
+	if (!init_user_convert_tail) {
 		user_convert_tail = &user_convert;
 		git_config(read_convert_config, NULL);
+		init_user_convert_tail = 1;
 	}
 
-	if (!git_check_attr(path, check)) {
-		struct git_attr_check_elem *ccheck = check->check;
-		ca->crlf_action = git_path_check_crlf(ccheck + 4);
+	if (!git_check_attr(path, check, result)) {
+		ca->crlf_action = git_path_check_crlf(&result[4]);
 		if (ca->crlf_action == CRLF_UNDEFINED)
-			ca->crlf_action = git_path_check_crlf(ccheck + 0);
+			ca->crlf_action = git_path_check_crlf(&result[0]);
 		ca->attr_action = ca->crlf_action;
-		ca->ident = git_path_check_ident(ccheck + 1);
-		ca->drv = git_path_check_convert(ccheck + 2);
+		ca->ident = git_path_check_ident(&result[1]);
+		ca->drv = git_path_check_convert(&result[2]);
 		if (ca->crlf_action != CRLF_BINARY) {
-			enum eol eol_attr = git_path_check_eol(ccheck + 3);
+			enum eol eol_attr = git_path_check_eol(&result[3]);
 			if (ca->crlf_action == CRLF_AUTO && eol_attr == EOL_LF)
 				ca->crlf_action = CRLF_AUTO_INPUT;
 			else if (ca->crlf_action == CRLF_AUTO && eol_attr == EOL_CRLF)
diff --git a/ll-merge.c b/ll-merge.c
index bc6479c..d71354a 100644
--- a/ll-merge.c
+++ b/ll-merge.c
@@ -353,12 +353,14 @@ int ll_merge(mmbuffer_t *result_buf,
 	     mmfile_t *theirs, const char *their_label,
 	     const struct ll_merge_options *opts)
 {
-	static struct git_attr_check *check;
 	static const struct ll_merge_options default_opts;
 	const char *ll_driver_name = NULL;
 	int marker_size = DEFAULT_CONFLICT_MARKER_SIZE;
 	const struct ll_merge_driver *driver;
 
+	static struct git_attr_check *check;
+	struct git_attr_result result[2];
+
 	if (!opts)
 		opts = &default_opts;
 
@@ -368,13 +370,12 @@ int ll_merge(mmbuffer_t *result_buf,
 		normalize_file(theirs, path);
 	}
 
-	if (!check)
-		check = git_attr_check_initl("merge", "conflict-marker-size", NULL);
+	git_attr_check_initl(&check, "merge", "conflict-marker-size", NULL);
 
-	if (!git_check_attr(path, check)) {
-		ll_driver_name = check->check[0].value;
-		if (check->check[1].value) {
-			marker_size = atoi(check->check[1].value);
+	if (!git_check_attr(path, check, result)) {
+		ll_driver_name = result[0].value;
+		if (result[1].value) {
+			marker_size = atoi(result[1].value);
 			if (marker_size <= 0)
 				marker_size = DEFAULT_CONFLICT_MARKER_SIZE;
 		}
@@ -395,11 +396,12 @@ int ll_merge_marker_size(const char *path)
 {
 	static struct git_attr_check *check;
 	int marker_size = DEFAULT_CONFLICT_MARKER_SIZE;
+	struct git_attr_result result[1];
+
+	git_attr_check_initl(&check, "conflict-marker-size", NULL);
 
-	if (!check)
-		check = git_attr_check_initl("conflict-marker-size", NULL);
-	if (!git_check_attr(path, check) && check->check[0].value) {
-		marker_size = atoi(check->check[0].value);
+	if (!git_check_attr(path, check, result) && !ATTR_UNSET(result[0].value)) {
+		marker_size = atoi(result[0].value);
 		if (marker_size <= 0)
 			marker_size = DEFAULT_CONFLICT_MARKER_SIZE;
 	}
diff --git a/userdiff.c b/userdiff.c
index 46dfd32..1d6d363 100644
--- a/userdiff.c
+++ b/userdiff.c
@@ -263,21 +263,23 @@ struct userdiff_driver *userdiff_find_by_name(const char *name) {
 struct userdiff_driver *userdiff_find_by_path(const char *path)
 {
 	static struct git_attr_check *check;
+	struct git_attr_result result[1];
 
-	if (!check)
-		check = git_attr_check_initl("diff", NULL);
 	if (!path)
 		return NULL;
-	if (git_check_attr(path, check))
+
+	git_attr_check_initl(&check, "diff", NULL);
+
+	if (git_check_attr(path, check, result))
 		return NULL;
 
-	if (ATTR_TRUE(check->check[0].value))
+	if (ATTR_TRUE(result[0].value))
 		return &driver_true;
-	if (ATTR_FALSE(check->check[0].value))
+	if (ATTR_FALSE(result[0].value))
 		return &driver_false;
-	if (ATTR_UNSET(check->check[0].value))
+	if (ATTR_UNSET(result[0].value))
 		return NULL;
-	return userdiff_find_by_name(check->check[0].value);
+	return userdiff_find_by_name(result[0].value);
 }
 
 struct userdiff_driver *userdiff_get_textconv(struct userdiff_driver *driver)
diff --git a/ws.c b/ws.c
index bb3270c..7e355c4 100644
--- a/ws.c
+++ b/ws.c
@@ -74,14 +74,14 @@ unsigned parse_whitespace_rule(const char *string)
 unsigned whitespace_rule(const char *pathname)
 {
 	static struct git_attr_check *attr_whitespace_rule;
+	struct git_attr_result result[1];
 
-	if (!attr_whitespace_rule)
-		attr_whitespace_rule = git_attr_check_initl("whitespace", NULL);
+	git_attr_check_initl(&attr_whitespace_rule, "whitespace", NULL);
 
-	if (!git_check_attr(pathname, attr_whitespace_rule)) {
+	if (!git_check_attr(pathname, attr_whitespace_rule, result)) {
 		const char *value;
 
-		value = attr_whitespace_rule->check[0].value;
+		value = result[0].value;
 		if (ATTR_TRUE(value)) {
 			/* true (whitespace) */
 			unsigned all_rule = ws_tab_width(whitespace_rule_cfg);
-- 
2.10.1.530.g38c3896