What are memory barriers in multi-threading?

What are memory barriers in multi-threading?

Memory barriers are synchronization mechanisms that prevent certain types of memory operations from being reordered, ensuring that changes made by one thread are visible to others.

Why are memory barriers important?

They are crucial for maintaining data consistency and preventing race conditions in multi-threaded applications.

Can you give an example of how memory barriers work?

Sure! For instance, if Thread A writes to a variable and then sets a flag, a memory barrier ensures that Thread B sees the updated variable before it checks the flag.

What happens if I don't use memory barriers?

Without memory barriers, threads may see stale data or experience race conditions, leading to unpredictable behavior in your application.