Mutex vs. Semaphores – Part 3 (final part): Mutual Exclusion Problems - Sticky Bits - Powered by Feabhas

As hopefully you can see from the previous posting, the mutex is a significantly safer mechanism to use for implementing mutual exclusion around shared resources. Nevertheless, there are still a couple of problems that use of the mutex (in preference to the semaphore) will not solve. These are: Circular deadlock Non-cooperation Circular Deadlock Circular deadlock, often referred to as the “deadly embrace” problem is a condition where two or more tasks develop a circular dependency of mutual exclusion. Simply put, one task is blocked [...]