Inter-process Communication (IPC) and Synchronization
The chapter explores inter-process communication (IPC) and synchronization, detailing race conditions and the critical section problem, synchronization tools such as mutexes, semaphores, monitors, and various IPC mechanisms. It emphasizes the importance of proper synchronization in concurrent programming to avoid issues such as race conditions, deadlocks, and starvation by utilizing designed algorithms and structures.
Sections
Navigate through the learning materials and practice exercises.
What we have learnt
- Race conditions occur when multiple processes access shared data and the outcome depends on the timing of their execution.
- Effective synchronization mechanisms are essential to ensure mutual exclusion, progress, and bounded waiting when accessing shared resources.
- Various IPC mechanisms like shared memory, message passing, and sockets facilitate communication between processes across systems.
Key Concepts
- -- Race Conditions
- Situations where the outcome of a process depends on the unpredictable timing of concurrent operations that access shared resources.
- -- Critical Section
- A part of the program where shared resources are accessed and modified, requiring proper synchronization to avoid race conditions.
- -- Mutex
- A mutual exclusion mechanism that allows only one thread or process to access a critical section at a time.
- -- Semaphore
- A synchronization tool that uses an integer variable to control access to resources, with operations to signal and wait on the values.
- -- Monitor
- A high-level synchronization construct that combines shared data and the procedures that operate on it, simplifying concurrent programming.
- -- IPC (Interprocess Communication)
- A set of programming interfaces that allows processes to exchange data and communicate with each other.
Additional Learning Materials
Supplementary resources to enhance your learning experience.