Thread Synchronization

• Locking and Unlocking Mutexes

  • int pthread_mutex_lock(pthread_mutex_t *mtx);
    • Thread blocks if mutex is already locked.
  • int pthread_mutex_trylock(pthread_mutex_t *mtx);
    • Returns EBUSY if mutex is already locked
  • int pthread_mutex_unlock(pthread_mutex_t *mtx);

• Spinlocks

  • To avoid blocking, continuously query via pthread_mutex_trylock()
  • Can be inefficient if mutex is held by another thread
  • Better to give up after a specified amount of time.
    • 1/2 the time of a thread context switch

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