What are the different types of locks in programming?

What are the different types of locks in programming?

In programming, locks are mechanisms to control access to shared resources. The main types include mutexes, spinlocks, read-write locks, and semaphores.

Can you explain what a mutex is?

A mutex, or mutual exclusion lock, allows only one thread to access a resource at a time, preventing race conditions.

What about read-write locks?

Read-write locks allow multiple readers or a single writer. This improves performance when reads are more frequent than writes.

Are spinlocks efficient?

Spinlocks can be efficient for short wait times, but they waste CPU cycles if the wait is long, as they continuously check the lock.

When should I use semaphores?

Semaphores are useful when you need to control access to a resource with a limited capacity, allowing a specific number of threads to access it.