What are the different types of standard locks in programming?

What are the different types of standard locks in programming?

In programming, standard locks include mutexes, spinlocks, read-write locks, and condition variables. Each serves different purposes.

Can you explain the differences between mutexes and spinlocks?

Sure! Mutexes are blocking locks that put a thread to sleep if the lock is unavailable, while spinlocks keep checking in a loop until the lock is free.

When should I use a read-write lock?

Use a read-write lock when you have multiple threads reading data and fewer threads writing. It allows concurrent reads while ensuring exclusive writes.

Are there any performance considerations I should be aware of?

Yes, mutexes can introduce overhead due to context switching, while spinlocks can waste CPU cycles if contention is high. Choose based on your use case.