How do I use locks in Python's threading library?

How do I use locks in Python's threading library?

You can use the Lock class from the threading module to create a lock. Here's a simple example:

import threading

lock = threading.Lock()

def thread_function():
    with lock:
        # critical section of code
        print('Lock acquired!')

thread = threading.Thread(target=thread_function)
thread.start()
thread.join()

What happens if I don't use locks?

If you don't use locks, multiple threads may access shared resources simultaneously, leading to race conditions and unpredictable behavior.

Can you explain race conditions?

A race condition occurs when two or more threads attempt to change shared data at the same time. This can result in inconsistent or incorrect data.

Are there other synchronization methods in Python?

Yes, besides locks, Python's threading module provides other synchronization primitives like RLock, Semaphore, and Event.