What are some effective strategies to avoid race conditions in programming?

What are some effective strategies to avoid race conditions in programming?

To avoid race conditions, you can use techniques like locks, semaphores, and atomic operations.

Can you explain how locks work in this context?

Locks prevent multiple threads from accessing shared resources simultaneously, ensuring data integrity.

What are semaphores, and how do they differ from locks?

Semaphores are signaling mechanisms that control access to a resource by multiple threads, allowing more flexibility than locks.

Are there any downsides to using these strategies?

Yes, using locks can lead to deadlocks if not managed properly, and semaphores can introduce complexity.