Difference between Mutex and Monitor
|
Parameters |
Mutex |
Monitor |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Provide mutual exclusion and ensure thread safety. | Provide higher-level synchronization and communication functionality. |
| Mechanism | Uses a lock to provide mutual exclusion. | Uses lock and condition variables to provide higher-level synchronization. |
| Notification | Mutexes do not provide notification when a resource becomes available. | Monitors can notify waiting threads when a condition becomes true. |
| Wait/Signal | Mutexes do not have wait/signal operations. | Monitors have wait/signal operations for waiting on and signaling condition variables. |
| Scope | Mutexes can be used across processes. | Monitors are typically used within a single process. |
| Complexity | Mutexes are simpler to use and implement. | Monitors are more complex to use and implement due to the use of condition variables. |
| Performance | Mutexes are faster than Monitors due to their lower overhead. | Monitors have higher overhead due to the use of condition variables, but can be more efficient in some situations. |
Conclusion
In Conclusion, Mutexes and Monitor are both important Synchronization Mechanisms in OS and also in Concurrent Programming. While monitors offer a higher-level abstraction for synchronizing and communicating between threads accessing shared resources, mutexes offer a straightforward way of assuring mutual exclusion and thread safety.
The selection of Mutex or Monitor is analyzed only after understanding the need for the application. Analyzing the synchronization level, size, and complexity of shared resources decides the choice of Mutex or Monitor. Understanding the distinctions between mutexes and monitors, two essential tools for maintaining thread safety and synchronization in multi-threaded contexts, is essential for creating effective concurrent systems.
Difference Between Mutex and Monitor in OS
Pre-requisites: Monitors in Process Synchronization
In the field of Computer Science and OS, Mutex, and Monitor are most of the important fundamental mechanisms which are synchronization used for managing the concurrent access of different shared resources by a number of threads and processes. The main goal of Mutex and Monitor are the same, but there are some key differences that make these terms unique. In this article, we will go through detailed information on Mutex and Monitor. Also, we will dive into the difference between these 2 fundamental mechanisms with respect to Functionality, Usage, Performance, and implementation.