mutual exclusion
Cannot both hold
Mutual exclusion is a principle in computing where only one process or thread can access a shared resource at a time.
It prevents conflicts when multiple operations might otherwise interfere with each other—like two programs trying to write to the same file simultaneously.
The concept appears in discussions of locks, semaphores, and concurrent programming: The mutex enforces mutual exclusion on the database connection.
- lockMechanism requiring a key
- semaphoreFlag-based signaling system
- deadlockMutual blocking, no progress
- criticalExpressing disapproval or importance
- critical sectionShared-resource access code
section · thread · synchronization · barrier · atomic · race · condition · blocking · queue · resource · access · priority · starvation · concurrency · latch · guard · shared · contention
- incompatibilitiesmismatch, conflict, clash, friction, discord
- concurrencythreads, deadlock, semaphore, atomic, race condition
- concurrency bugsrace condition, deadlock, starvation
mutual exclusionoverlap
Partial coincidence of coverage
intersection · compatibility · coexistence · non-exclusive · conjunction
mutual exclusioncompatibility
Mutual suitability between things
coexistence · complementarity · interoperability · simultaneity · peaceful coexistence
mutual, mutually, mutuality, exclusion, exclude, exclusive, exclusively, exclusivity, excluding