问题
I would like to know what copy-on-write is and what it is used for? The term \'copy-on-write array\' is mentioned several times in the Sun JDK tutorials but I didn\'t understand what it meant.
回答1:
I was going to write up my own explanation but this Wikipedia article pretty much sums it up.
Here is the basic concept:
Copy-on-write (sometimes referred to as "COW") is an optimization strategy used in computer programming. The fundamental idea is that if multiple callers ask for resources which are initially indistinguishable, you can give them pointers to the same resource. This function can be maintained until a caller tries to modify its "copy" of the resource, at which point a true private copy is created to prevent the changes becoming visible to everyone else. All of this happens transparently to the callers. The primary advantage is that if a caller never makes any modifications, no private copy need ever be created.
Also here is an application of a common use of COW:
The COW concept is also used in maintenance of instant snapshot on database servers like Microsoft SQL Server 2005. Instant snapshots preserve a static view of a database by storing a pre-modification copy of data when underlaying data are updated. Instant snapshots are used for testing uses or moment-dependent reports and should not be used to replace backups.
回答2:
"Copy on write" means more or less what it sounds like: everyone has a single shared copy of the same data until it's written, and then a copy is made. Usually, copy-on-write is used to resolve concurrency sorts of problems. In ZFS, for example, data blocks on disk are allocated copy-on-write; as long as there are no changes, you keep the original blocks; a change changed only the affected blocks. This means the minimum number of new blocks are allocated.
These changes are also usually implemented to be transactional, ie, they have the ACID properties. This eliminates some concurrency issues, because then you're guaranteed that all updates are atomic.
回答3:
I shall not repeat the same answer on Copy-on-Write. I think Andrew's answer and Charlie's answer have already made it very clear. I will give you an example from OS world, just to mention how widely this concept is used.
We can use fork() or vfork() to create a new process. vfork follows the concept of copy-on-write. For example, the child process created by vfork will share the data and code segment with the parent process. This speeds up the forking time. It is expected to use vfork if you are performing exec followed by vfork. So vfork will create the child process which will share data and code segment with its parent but when we call exec, it will load up the image of a new executable in the address space of the child process.
回答4:
Just to provide another example, Mercurial uses copy-on-write to make cloning local repositories a really "cheap" operation.
The principle is the same as the other examples, except that you're talking about physical files instead of objects in memory. Initially, a clone is not a duplicate but a hard link to the original. As you change files in the clone, copies are written to represent the new version.
回答5:
I found this good article about zval in PHP, which mentioned COW too:
Copy On Write (abbreviated as ‘COW’) is a trick designed to save memory. It is used more generally in software engineering. It means that PHP will copy the memory (or allocate new memory region) when you write to a symbol, if this one was already pointing to a zval.
回答6:
It's also used in Ruby 'Enterprise Edition' as a neat way of saving memory.
回答7:
A good example is Git, which uses a strategy to store blobs. Why does it use hashes? Partly because these are easier to perform diffs on, but also because makes it simpler to optimise a COW strategy. When you make a new commit with few files changes the vast majority of objects and trees will not change. Therefore the commit, will through various pointers made of hashes reference a bunch of object that already exist, making the storage space required to store the entire history much smaller.
来源：https://stackoverflow.com/questions/628938/what-is-copy-on-write