[embedded] Document the details of the Embedded Swift's refcounting scheme

stdlib/public/core/EmbeddedRuntime.swift

@@ -28,6 +28,67 @@ public struct ClassMetadata {
   var ivarDestroyer: UnsafeRawPointer?
 }
 
+/*
+  Embedded Swift Refcounting Scheme
+  =================================
+
+  The scheme for storing and maintaining a refcount on heap objects is very simple in Embedded Swift, and is much
+  simpler than regular Swift's. This is mainly due to the fact that we currently only maintain the regular ("strong")
+  refcount and we don't allow weak references, unowned references and we don't track refcount during deinit of the
+  object.
+
+  The refcount is always stored directly inline in the heap object, in the `refcount` field (see HeapObject struct
+  below). This field has the following structure (on 32-bit, and similar on other bitwidths):
+
+  ┌──────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
+  │     b31      │                  b30:b0                      │
+  ├──────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
+  │ doNotFreeBit │          actual number of references         │
+  └──────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────┘
+
+  If the highest bit (doNotFreeBit) is set, the behavior of dropping the last reference (release operation where
+  refcount ends up being 0) is altered to avoid calling free() on the object (deinit is still run). This is crutial for
+  class instances that are promoted by the compiler from being heap-allocated to instead be located on the stack
+  (see swift_initStackObject).
+
+  To retrieve the actual number of references from the `refcount` field, refcountMask needs to be applied, which masks
+  off the doNotFreeBit.
+
+  The actual number of references has one possible value that has a special meaning, immortalRefCount (all bits set,
+  i.e. 0x7fff_ffff on 32-bit systems). When used, retain and release operations do nothing, references are not counted,
+  and the object can never be deinit'd / free'd. This is used for class instances that are promoted by the compiler to
+  be allocated statically in global memory (see swift_initStaticObject). Note that there are two different scenarios for
+  this currently:
+
+  - In most cases, a class instance that is promoted to a global, is still dynamically initialized with a runtime call
+    to swift_initStaticObject. This function will set the refcount field to immortalRefCount | doNotFreeBit.
+  - As a special case to allow arrays be fully statically initialized without runtime overhead, instances of
+    _ContiguousArrayStorage can be promoted to __StaticArrayStorage with the HeapObject header emitted directly by the
+    compiler and refcount field directly set to immortalRefCount | doNotFreeBit (see irgen::emitConstantObject).
+
+  Tne immortalRefCount is additionally also used as a placeholder value for objects (heap-allocated or stack-allocated)
+  when they're currently inside their deinit(). This is done to prevent further retains and releases inside deinit from
+  triggering deinitialization again, without the need to reserve another bit for this purpose. Retains and releases in
+  deinit() are allowed, as long as they are balanced at the end, i.e. the object is not escaped (user's responsibility)
+  and not over-released (this can only be caused by unsafe code).
+
+  The following table summarizes the meaning of the possible combinations of doNotFreeBit and have immortal refcount
+  value:
+
+  ┌───────────╥──────────╥─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
+  │ doNotFree ║ immortal ║                                                 │
+  ╞═══════════╬══════════╬═════════════════════════════════════════════════╡
+  │ 0         ║ no       ║ regular class instance                          │
+  ├───────────╫──────────╫─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
+  │ 0         ║ yes      ║ regular class instance during deinit()          │
+  ├───────────╫──────────╫─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
+  │ 1         ║ no       ║ stack-allocated                                 │
+  ├───────────╫──────────╫─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
+  │ 1         ║ yes      ║ global-allocated, no need to track references,  │
+  │           ║          ║ or stack-allocated instance during deinit()     │
+  └───────────╨──────────╨─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
+*/
+
 public struct HeapObject {
   // There is no way to express the custom ptrauth signature on the metadata
   // field, so let's use UnsafeRawPointer and a helper function in C instead