What is a mutex in the pthreads library?

What is a mutex in the pthreads library?

A mutex, or mutual exclusion, is a synchronization primitive used in the pthreads library to prevent concurrent access to shared resources.

How do I create a mutex in my program?

You can create a mutex using the pthread_mutex_init function, which initializes a mutex object.

What happens if I forget to lock a mutex?

Forgetting to lock a mutex can lead to race conditions, where multiple threads access shared data simultaneously, causing unpredictable behavior.

Can you show me a simple code example?

Sure! Here's a basic example:

pthread_mutex_t mutex;

pthread_mutex_init(&mutex, NULL);

pthread_mutex_lock(&mutex);
// critical section
pthread_mutex_unlock(&mutex);

pthread_mutex_destroy(&mutex);