Subject: Re: [PATCHv2 1/2] attr: convert to new threadsafe API

From: Junio C Hamano <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2016 17:49:00 -0700

Stefan Beller <[email-masked]> writes:

>  extern struct git_attr *git_attr(const char *);
> ...
> +extern void git_attr_check_append(struct git_attr_check *,
> +				  const struct git_attr *);

Another thing.  Do we still need to expose git_attr() to the outside
callers?  If we change git_attr_check_append() to take "const char *"
as its second parameter, can we retire it from the public interface?

It being an "intern" function, by definition it is not thread-safe.
Its use from prepare_attr_stack() inside git_check_attr() that takes
the Big Attribute Subsystem Lock is safe, but the callers that do

	struct git_attr_check *check = ...;
	struct git_attr *text_attr = git_attr("text");

	git_attr_check_append(check, text_attr);

would risk racing to register the same entry to the "all the
attributes in the known universe" table.  

If the attribute API does not have to expose git_attr(const char *)
to the external callers at all, that would be ideal.  Otherwise, we
would need to rename the current git_attr() that is used internally
under the Big Lock to 

    static struct git_attr *git_attr_locked(const char*)

that is defined inside attr.c, and then provide the external version
as a thin wrapper that calls it under the Big Lock.