What is thread safety in queues?

What is thread safety in queues?

Thread safety in queues refers to the ability of a queue data structure to be safely accessed and modified by multiple threads concurrently without leading to data corruption or unexpected behavior.

Why is thread safety important in multi-threaded applications?

It's important because multiple threads may try to read from or write to the queue at the same time, which can cause race conditions, data loss, or crashes if not handled properly.

How can I implement a thread-safe queue in Python?

You can use the queue.Queue class in Python, which is designed to be thread-safe. It handles locking internally, allowing safe access from multiple threads.

Are there any performance trade-offs with thread-safe queues?

Yes, while thread-safe queues prevent data corruption, they may introduce overhead due to locking mechanisms, which can affect performance in highly concurrent scenarios.