What are mutexes in computer science?

What are mutexes in computer science?

Mutexes, or mutual exclusions, are synchronization primitives used to manage access to shared resources in concurrent programming.

Why are mutexes important in programming?

They prevent race conditions by ensuring that only one thread can access a resource at a time, maintaining data integrity.

Can you give me an example of how a mutex works?

Sure! Imagine two threads trying to update a bank account balance. A mutex ensures that one thread completes its update before the other starts.

What happens if I don't use mutexes?

Without mutexes, multiple threads might read and write to the same resource simultaneously, leading to inconsistent or corrupted data.