How do I use locks in concurrent programming?

How do I use locks in concurrent programming?

Locks are synchronization primitives that help manage access to shared resources in concurrent programming. They prevent race conditions by ensuring that only one thread can access a resource at a time.

Can you explain the different types of locks?

Sure! The main types of locks are mutexes, read-write locks, and spinlocks. Mutexes allow only one thread to access a resource, read-write locks allow multiple readers or one writer, and spinlocks are busy-wait locks.

When should I use a read-write lock?

Use a read-write lock when you have a resource that is read frequently but written to infrequently. This allows multiple threads to read simultaneously while still ensuring exclusive access for writing.

What are the downsides of using locks?

Locks can lead to issues like deadlocks, where two or more threads are waiting indefinitely for each other to release locks. They can also introduce performance overhead due to context switching.

How can I avoid deadlocks?

To avoid deadlocks, you can use techniques like lock ordering, timeout mechanisms, or employing lock-free data structures.