Solving the ABA Problem in Rust with Tagged Pointers
2025-02-14
This blog post tackles the ABA problem in concurrent Rust programming. The ABA problem, a subtle issue in compare-and-swap (CAS) operations, can lead to data corruption in lock-free data structures. The solution presented uses tagged pointers with version numbers. Each pointer is paired with a version counter; updates increment the version, allowing detection of stale pointers even if the memory address is reused. A lock-free stack implementation demonstrates this technique, complete with tests and benchmarks showcasing its effectiveness and performance.
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ABA Problem