What are the differences between mutexes and locks?

Can you explain the differences between mutexes and locks?

Sure! Mutexes and locks are both synchronization primitives used in concurrent programming, but they have some key differences.

What are the main differences?

Mutexes are typically used to ensure that only one thread can access a resource at a time, while locks can be more flexible and may allow multiple threads to access a resource under certain conditions.

Are there specific scenarios where one is preferred over the other?

Yes, mutexes are preferred when you need strict mutual exclusion, while locks might be used in scenarios where you want to allow more concurrency.

Can you give an example of each?

Certainly! A mutex might be used when updating a shared variable, while a read-write lock allows multiple threads to read a resource but only one to write.