> an atomic increment could theoretically become an infinite loop
Only if your software is badly implemented. If you follow the requirements specified by the architecture, forward progress is guaranteed. Of course there is no guarantee how long it will take, but the things that make it slow are essentially the same things that make atomics slow.
Only if your software is badly implemented. If you follow the requirements specified by the architecture, forward progress is guaranteed. Of course there is no guarantee how long it will take, but the things that make it slow are essentially the same things that make atomics slow.