Synchronization (computer science): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 20:22, 10 November 2023

Revision as of 03:55, 14 November 2023

Line 1:

{{short description|Concept in computer science, referring to processes, or data}}

{{distinguish|Data synchronization}}

{{Use American English|date=October 2020}}

{{More citations needed|date=November 2014}}

{{distinguish|Data synchronization}}

In [[computer science]], '''synchronization''' is the task of coordinating multiple of [[Process (computer science)|processes]] to join up or [[Handshake (computing)|handshake]] at a certain point, in order to reach an agreement or commit to a certain sequence of action.

Line 80:

Java ''synchronized'' blocks, in addition to enabling mutual exclusion and memory consistency, enable signaling—i.e. sending events from threads which have acquired the lock and are executing the code block to those which are waiting for the lock within the block. Java ''synchronized'' sections, therefore, combine the functionality of both [[Lock (computer science)|mutexes]] and [[Event (synchronization primitive)|events]] to ensure synchronization. Such a construct is known as a [[Monitor (synchronization)|synchronization monitor]].

The [[.NET Framework]] also uses synchronization primitives.<ref>{{cite web|title=Overview of synchronization primitives|url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/standard/threading/overview-of-synchronization-primitives|website=Microsoft Learn|publisher=Microsoft|access-date=10 November 2023}}</ref> "Synchronization is designed to be cooperative, demanding that every thread follow the synchronization mechanism before accessing protected resources for consistent results. Locking, signaling, lightweight synchronization types, spinwait and interlocked operations are mechanisms related to synchronization in .NET." <ref>{{cite web|title=Synchronization|last=Rouse|first=Margaret|url=https://www.techopedia.com/definition/13390/synchronization-dot-net|website=Techopedia|publisher=Techopedia|access-date=10 November 2023}}</ref>

Many programming languages support synchronization and entire specialized [[Synchronous programming language|languages]] have been written for [[Embedded software|embedded application]] development where strictly deterministic synchronization is paramount.