Unlike a lock, a mutex can be used to synchronize threads in different processes. In .NET, we use the System.Threading.Mutex class to work with mutexes.

How a Mutex Works Many things in computing are about list-keeping, and mutexes are no different internally. For each mutex, the RTOS maintains a list of task IDs that are all suspended, waiting on a ...

After a nice discussion about the virtues of the current MacOS kernel as opposed to a Linux/BSD one, I did some performance testing. Yes, some stuff is ...

A lock-free ring buffer (LFRB) accomplishes the same result without something like a mutex (lock), instead using a hardware feature like atomics.

Putting a pthread_mutex_lock() on that same mutex before pthread_cond_signal() will make sure the first thread is waiting (and thus ready to receive the signal) before actually sending the signal.

There’s better reliability in using a mutex object in this way than checking for the presence of a process name, which could change. Malware writers, however, may have caught on to this ...