What are the performance differences between multiprocessing and threading?

What are the performance differences between multiprocessing and threading?

Multiprocessing uses multiple processes, while threading uses multiple threads within a single process. Multiprocessing can take advantage of multiple CPU cores, making it better for CPU-bound tasks, while threading is more efficient for I/O-bound tasks due to lower overhead.

Can you give examples of CPU-bound and I/O-bound tasks?

Sure! CPU-bound tasks include complex calculations, like image processing or simulations. I/O-bound tasks involve waiting for external resources, like reading files or network requests.

Which one should I use for a web server?

For a web server, threading is often preferred because it can handle multiple requests concurrently without the overhead of creating new processes. However, if your server performs heavy computations, consider using multiprocessing.

Are there any downsides to using threading?

Yes, threading can lead to issues like race conditions and deadlocks due to shared memory. It also has a Global Interpreter Lock (GIL) in Python, which can limit performance in CPU-bound tasks.