What is a race condition in operating systems?
a) A situation where two or more processes attempt to access shared resources simultaneously, leading to unpredictable results
b) A method for prioritizing processes
c) A technique for optimizing file system performance
d) A way to manage memory allocation
Answer:
a) A situation where two or more processes attempt to access shared resources simultaneously, leading to unpredictable results
Explanation:
A race condition occurs when two or more processes or threads attempt to access shared resources, such as memory or files, simultaneously without proper synchronization, leading to unpredictable and incorrect outcomes.
Race conditions often arise when multiple processes are allowed to execute their critical sections concurrently without mechanisms like locks or semaphores to coordinate access. The result depends on the timing of the execution, which can vary, leading to inconsistent data or behavior.
To avoid race conditions, synchronization techniques like mutexes, semaphores, and monitors are employed to ensure that only one process or thread can access the shared resource at a time.