Condition Variables
Condition variables are a synchronization primitive used in concurrent programming to allow threads to wait for a specific condition to become true before proceeding. They are typically used in conjunction with mutexes to coordinate access to shared resources and avoid busy-waiting. This mechanism enables efficient thread communication and helps prevent race conditions in multi-threaded applications.
Developers should learn condition variables when building multi-threaded applications that require threads to wait for events or state changes, such as in producer-consumer patterns, thread pools, or event-driven systems. They are essential for implementing efficient synchronization in languages like C++, Java, and Python, where they help reduce CPU usage by allowing threads to sleep instead of polling. Use cases include task scheduling, resource management, and coordinating complex workflows in concurrent software.