Mutex

A mutex (short for mutual exclusion) is a synchronization primitive used in concurrent programming to prevent multiple threads or processes from simultaneously accessing a shared resource, such as data or a critical section of code. It ensures that only one thread can hold the lock at any given time, thereby avoiding race conditions and maintaining data integrity in multi-threaded or distributed systems. Mutexes are fundamental to thread-safe programming and are widely implemented in operating systems, programming languages, and libraries.

Also known as: Mutual Exclusion, Mutex Lock, Lock, Binary Semaphore, Critical Section Lock

Why learn Mutex?

Developers should learn and use mutexes when building applications that involve multi-threading or concurrency, such as web servers, real-time systems, or data processing pipelines, to prevent data corruption and ensure predictable behavior. They are essential in scenarios where shared resources, like global variables, files, or database connections, need to be accessed safely by multiple threads, helping to avoid deadlocks and improve application reliability. Understanding mutexes is crucial for debugging and optimizing performance in concurrent environments.

Learning Resources

• docs: Mutex (Computer Science) - Wikipedia
• tutorial: Mutex Tutorial - GeeksforGeeks
• tutorial: Concurrency in Go: Mutexes - Go by Example
• docs: Mutexes in C++ - C++ Reference
• tutorial: Java Concurrency: Mutex and Semaphore Explained - Baeldung