process_one_work(9)

💅 process_one_work(9) — Kernel API Manual energy ✨

okay so welcome to process_one_work(9), bestie — it's a page from the Kernel API Manual and honestly it's lowkey iconic. Let's get into it. 🫶

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✨ NAME ✨

process_one_work — literally just "process single work", that's the whole vibe 💖

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

void process_one_work (struct worker *worker , struct work_struct *work
);

yep that's it. void return, no notes, she returns nothing because the work itself is the moment 👑

🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• worker — self. like, the worker doing the thing. main character energy fr 🧚
• work — the work to process. this is the assignment she's about to slay 💅

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so what does it do. It processes work. 🎀

But like — the way that it does it. This function contains all the logics necessary to process a single work, and when I say all I mean ALL: synchronization against other workers on the same cpu, interaction with other workers on the same cpu, queueing, and flushing. she does everything. she's booked and busy. 🔥

And here's the cute part: as long as the context requirement is met, any worker can call this function to process a work. no gatekeeping, no "only the cool workers", everybody eats 💖

⭐ CONTEXT ⭐

raw_spin_lock_irq(pool->lock) — which is released and regrabbed. yes bestie she lets go and grabs it again, that's just how she lives her life 🙈✨

💜 SEE ALSO 💜

Kernel file ./kernel/workqueue.c, plus this absolutely unhinged (affectionate) list of friends:

for_each_pool(9), for_each_pool_worker(9), for_each_pwq(9), worker_pool_assign_id(9), unbound_effective_cpumask(9), get_work_pool(9), worker_set_flags(9), worker_clr_flags(9), worker_enter_idle(9), worker_leave_idle(9), find_worker_executing_work(9), move_linked_works(9), assign_work(9), kick_pool_pick(9), kick_pool(9), wq_worker_running(9), wq_worker_sleeping(9), wq_worker_tick(9), wq_worker_last_func(9), wq_node_nr_active(9), wq_update_node_max_active(9), get_pwq(9), put_pwq(9), put_pwq_unlocked(9), pwq_tryinc_nr_active(9), pwq_activate_first_inactive(9), unplug_oldest_pwq(9), node_activate_pending_pwq(9), pwq_dec_nr_active(9), pwq_dec_nr_in_flight(9), try_to_grab_pending(9), work_grab_pending(9), insert_work(9), queue_work_on(9), select_numa_node_cpu(9), queue_work_node(9), queue_delayed_work_on(9), mod_delayed_work_on(9), queue_rcu_work(9), worker_attach_to_pool(9), worker_detach_from_pool(9), create_worker(9), set_worker_dying(9), idle_worker_timeout(9), idle_cull_fn(9), maybe_create_worker(9), manage_workers(9), process_scheduled_works(9), worker_thread(9), rescuer_thread(9), check_flush_dependency(9), insert_wq_barrier(9), flush_workqueue_prep_pwqs(9), __flush_workqueue(9), drain_workqueue(9), flush_work(9), flush_delayed_work(9), flush_rcu_work(9), cancel_work_sync(9), cancel_delayed_work(9), cancel_delayed_work_sync(9), disable_work(9), disable_work_sync(9), enable_work(9), disable_delayed_work(9), disable_delayed_work_sync(9), enable_delayed_work(9), schedule_on_each_cpu(9), execute_in_process_context(9), free_workqueue_attrs(9), alloc_workqueue_attrs(9), init_worker_pool(9), put_unbound_pool(9), get_unbound_pool(9), wq_calc_pod_cpumask(9), apply_workqueue_attrs(9), unbound_wq_update_pwq(9), wq_adjust_max_active(9), destroy_workqueue(9), workqueue_set_max_active(9), workqueue_set_min_active(9), current_work(9), current_is_workqueue_rescuer(9), current_is_workqueue_mem_reclaim(9), workqueue_congested(9), work_busy(9), set_worker_desc(9), print_worker_info(9), show_one_workqueue(9), show_one_worker_pool(9), show_all_workqueues(9), show_freezable_workqueues(9), rebind_workers(9), restore_unbound_workers_cpumask(9), work_on_cpu_key(9), freeze_workqueues_begin(9), freeze_workqueues_busy(9), thaw_workqueues(9), workqueue_unbound_housekeeping_update(9), workqueue_set_unbound_cpumask(9), workqueue_sysfs_register(9), workqueue_sysfs_unregister(9), workqueue_init_early(9), workqueue_init(9), llc_count_cores(9), llc_populate_cpu_shard_id(9), precompute_cache_shard_ids(9), workqueue_init_topology(9)

like. that's the whole friend group. iykyk 🌈

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and that's the page!! mwah 💋 this one comes from ./kernel and it's dated October 2026 — so yeah, she's from the future, slay, periodt 👑✨ no cap, go read process_one_work(9) fr fr 💖