What are the differences between locks and condition variables?

Can you explain the differences between locks and condition variables?

Sure! Locks are used to ensure that only one thread can access a resource at a time, preventing race conditions.

What about condition variables? How do they fit into this?

Condition variables are used for signaling between threads. They allow threads to wait for certain conditions to be true before proceeding.

So, can I use them together?

Yes, they are often used together. Locks protect shared data, while condition variables help manage thread execution based on that data.

Can you give me an example of how they work together?

Certainly! Imagine a producer-consumer scenario where a producer adds items to a buffer. The consumer waits on a condition variable until there's an item to consume, while a lock ensures that only one thread modifies the buffer at a time.