What is the difference between mutex and condition variables in C?

What is the difference between mutex and condition variables in C?

Mutexes are used to protect shared resources from concurrent access, while condition variables are used for signaling between threads.

Can you give an example of how to use a mutex?

Sure! You can use pthread_mutex_lock to lock a mutex before accessing shared data and pthread_mutex_unlock to release it.

How do condition variables work in C?

Condition variables allow threads to wait for certain conditions to be true. You use pthread_cond_wait to wait and pthread_cond_signal to notify waiting threads.

When should I use a condition variable instead of a mutex?

Use condition variables when you need to wait for a specific condition to occur, while mutexes are for protecting shared data.