SRWLock

SRWLock, also known as Slim Reader-Writer Lock, is a synchronization primitive used in concurrent programming. It allows multiple threads to read a shared resource concurrently, but only one thread can write to it at a time, excluding all readers. This makes it efficient for scenarios where reads are much more frequent than writes.

The SRWLock provides two main modes of access: shared and exclusive. In shared mode, multiple threads can acquire the lock simultaneously. This is suitable for read operations. In exclusive mode, only one thread can acquire the lock, blocking all other threads, whether they are attempting to acquire it in shared or exclusive mode. This is used for write operations.

Compared to traditional Reader-Writer locks, SRWLock is often more lightweight and efficient, especially on systems with good support for the underlying operating system primitives. It aims to reduce contention and overhead associated with lock management.

Key operations for SRWLock typically include acquiring a shared lock, releasing a shared lock, acquiring an exclusive lock, and releasing an exclusive lock. Some implementations might also offer try-acquire operations that attempt to acquire the lock without blocking. Understanding the distinction between shared and exclusive access is crucial for correct and performant usage of SRWLock to prevent race conditions and deadlocks.