What are the differences between atomic operations and locks in Python?

What are the differences between atomic operations and locks in Python?

Atomic operations are indivisible operations that complete in a single step, while locks are mechanisms to control access to shared resources.

Can you give an example of an atomic operation in Python?

Sure! An example of an atomic operation is using the += operator on a variable, which is thread-safe in certain contexts.

When should I use locks instead of atomic operations?

You should use locks when you need to perform multiple operations atomically or when working with complex data structures.

Are there any performance implications of using locks?

Yes, using locks can introduce overhead and may lead to contention, which can affect performance in multi-threaded applications.