Explain atomic operations in the context of multithreading. Provide examples of atomic operations and describe their importance in concurrent programming

Database System Concepts
7th Edition
ISBN:9780078022159
Author:Abraham Silberschatz Professor, Henry F. Korth, S. Sudarshan
Publisher:Abraham Silberschatz Professor, Henry F. Korth, S. Sudarshan
Chapter1: Introduction
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Explain atomic operations in the context of multithreading. Provide examples of atomic operations and describe their importance in concurrent programming.

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Step 1: Atomic operations

Atomic operations in the context of multithreading refer to operations that are executed as a single, indivisible unit, without interruption from other threads. These operations are guaranteed to complete without interference, ensuring data consistency and preventing race conditions in concurrent programming. Atomic operations are crucial for managing shared resources in a thread-safe manner. Here's an explanation, examples, and their importance:

Explanation:

In a multithreaded environment, multiple threads may access and modify shared variables or resources concurrently. Without proper synchronization, this can lead to data corruption and unpredictable behavior. Atomic operations provide a way to protect critical sections of code by ensuring that certain operations are executed atomically, i.e., uninterruptibly, by a single thread. This prevents race conditions and data inconsistencies.

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