What are some examples of mutex usage in Python?

What are some examples of mutex usage in Python?

Mutexes, or mutual exclusions, are used in Python to prevent multiple threads from accessing shared resources simultaneously. One common example is using the threading module's Lock class.

Can you show me a code example of using a mutex?

Sure! Here's a simple example:

import threading

# Create a mutex
mutex = threading.Lock()

# Shared resource
shared_resource = 0

# Function to increment the shared resource
def increment():
    global shared_resource
    with mutex:
        for _ in range(100000):
            shared_resource += 1

# Create threads
thread1 = threading.Thread(target=increment)
thread2 = threading.Thread(target=increment)

# Start threads
thread1.start()
thread2.start()

# Wait for threads to finish
thread1.join()
thread2.join()

print(shared_resource)  # Should print 200000

What happens if I don't use a mutex?

If you don't use a mutex, multiple threads may access and modify the shared resource simultaneously, leading to race conditions and unpredictable results.

Are there other synchronization methods in Python?

Yes, besides mutexes, Python provides other synchronization primitives like RLock, Semaphore, and Event.