What is the difference between livelock and deadlock?

What is the difference between livelock and deadlock?

Livelock and deadlock are both conditions that occur in concurrent systems. In a deadlock, two or more processes are unable to proceed because each is waiting for the other to release resources. In contrast, livelock occurs when processes continuously change states in response to each other without making progress.

Can you give me an example of each?

Sure! In a deadlock example, imagine two trains on the same track facing each other. They can't move because each is waiting for the other to back up. For livelock, consider two people trying to pass each other in a narrow hallway. They keep stepping aside for each other but never actually pass.

How can we prevent these situations?

To prevent deadlock, you can use strategies like resource ordering or the Banker's algorithm. For livelock, implementing a back-off strategy where processes wait for a random time before retrying can help.

Are there any tools to detect these issues?

Yes, there are tools like deadlock detection algorithms and monitoring systems that can help identify and resolve deadlocks and livelocks in software.