1. A method for atomically updating an in-memory data structure that is directly accessible by a processor, comprising: comparing old information associated with an old version of the in-memory data structure with current information associated with a current version of the in-memory data structure; in the event that the old information and the current information are the same, replacing the old version with a new version of the in-memory data structure; in the event that the old information and the current information are not the same, determining a difference between the current version of the in-memory data structure relative to the old version of the in-memory data structure and the new version of the in-memory data structure relative to the old version of the in-memory data structure, and determining whether the difference is logically consistent, wherein a logically consistent difference pertains to concurrent modifications to the current version of the in-memory data structure and the new version of the in-memory data structure that are resolvable to arrive at a predictable memory state; and in the event that the difference is logically consistent, merging a change in the current version with the new version.