Synchronization primitives
Synchronization primitives are essential tools for managing concurrent access to shared resources in multithreaded programming. There are several synchronization primitives, each with its own specific purpose and characteristics:
- Mutexes: Mutexes are used to enforce exclusive access to critical sections of code. A mutex can be locked by a thread, preventing other threads from entering the protected section until the mutex is unlocked. Mutexes guarantee that only one thread can execute the critical section at any given time, ensuring data integrity and preventing race conditions.
- Semaphores: Semaphores are more versatile than mutexes and can be used for a wider range of synchronization tasks, including signaling between threads. A semaphore maintains an integer counter that can be incremented (signaling) or decremented (waiting) by threads. Semaphores allow for more complex coordination patterns, such as counting semaphores (for resource allocation...
