Question

A mutex :

a) is a binary mutex
b) must be accessed from only one process
c) can be accessed from multiple processes
d) None of these

Answer 1

A mutex, or mutual exclusion, is a mechanism that can be accessed from multiple processes to ensure that only one process can hold the lock to it at any given time, thus preventing simultaneous access and potential conflicts on a shared resource.

Step-by-step explanation:

A mutex, which stands for mutual exclusion, is a mechanism used in concurrent programming to avoid the concurrent use of a common resource, like a global variable or a file. Specifically, a mutex:

• (a) is not exclusively a binary mutex but usually functions like one because it allows only one thread to access a resource at a time.
• (b) must not be accessed from only one process exclusively, but rather, it can be locked or unlocked by multiple process to ensure mutual exclusion access to a shared resource.
• (c) can be accessed from multiple processes, but only one process can hold the lock to the mutex at any given time to prevent race conditions and ensure the integrity of the shared data.

Therefore, the correct answer is option (c) it can be accessed from multiple processes.