What are the best practices for using condition variables?

What are the best practices for using condition variables in multithreading?

The best practices for using condition variables include ensuring proper locking, avoiding spurious wakeups, and using condition variables only when necessary.

Can you explain what spurious wakeups are?

Spurious wakeups occur when a thread is awakened from a wait state without any explicit signal. It's important to handle this by re-checking the condition.

How do I properly lock and unlock condition variables?

You should always lock the mutex before waiting on a condition variable and unlock it after signaling. This ensures thread safety.

Are there any common mistakes to avoid?

Yes, common mistakes include forgetting to lock the mutex, signaling without waiting threads, and not checking the condition after waking up.