What are the best practices for ensuring thread safety in C?

What are the best practices for ensuring thread safety in C?

To ensure thread safety in C, you can use mutexes, condition variables, and atomic operations. Would you like to know more about any specific method?

Can you explain how mutexes work?

Mutexes are used to protect shared resources by allowing only one thread to access the resource at a time. You lock the mutex before accessing the resource and unlock it afterward.

What are condition variables and when should I use them?

Condition variables are used for signaling between threads. They allow threads to wait for certain conditions to be true before proceeding, which is useful for coordinating actions.

Are there any pitfalls I should be aware of when using these techniques?

Yes, common pitfalls include deadlocks, where two threads are waiting on each other, and race conditions, where the timing of thread execution leads to unexpected results. Proper design and testing can help mitigate these issues.