Mutex and Semaphore
Learn to synchronize threads using Mutex for mutual exclusion and Semaphore to throttle concurrent access to shared resources.
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Synchronization using Mutex
The word mutex stands for mutual exclusion. It is a synchronization primitive that grants exclusive access to a shared resource to only one thread at a time.
Functionally, a Mutex behaves similarly to the lock statement or the Monitor class. Threads must acquire the mutex before entering a critical section and release it afterward.
Note: The key difference is that the Mutex class wraps an operating system kernel object. While this is slower than a lock, it allows for synchronization across different processes. For example, you can use a named Mutex to prevent two different instances of your application from accessing the same file simultaneously.
The Mutex class provides two primary methods for synchronization:
WaitOne(): Suspends the thread until the mutex is acquired.ReleaseMutex(): Releases the mutex so other waiting threads can proceed.