Final answer:
Mutual exclusion is necessary for preventing conflicts when multiple processes access a single resource, and it is supported by the operating system using various synchronization mechanisms.
Step-by-step explanation:
When access to a resource requires mutual exclusion, it means that only one process at a time can use the resource to avoid conflicts and data inconsistencies. This concept is crucial in multi-threaded or multi-process environments, such as operating systems that manage concurrent access to resources like files, I/O devices, and shared memory. Mutual exclusion is usually achieved through mechanisms like locks, semaphores, monitors, and critical sections, all of which can be provided or managed by the operating system (OS).
An operating system is responsible for enabling and enforcing mutual exclusion by providing the necessary synchronization primitives and managing their usage among different processes to prevent race conditions, deadlocks, and other concurrency issues. Therefore, to ensure that mutual exclusion is maintained when a resource requires it, support from the OS is essential.