What are the advantages and disadvantages of using mutual exclusion (Mutex) in multithreaded applications?

Mutex (Mutual Exclusion) is used to synchronize access to shared resources in multithreaded applications.

Advantages:

• Ensures data correctness by preventing simultaneous access to shared resources.
• Easy to use and understand.
• Helps avoid race conditions.

Disadvantages:

• Can lead to deadlocks if multiple mutexes are not used carefully.
• Reduces performance due to blocking and thread waiting.
• May cause thread suspension, affecting application responsiveness.

Example of usage in C++11:

#include <mutex>
#include <thread>
#include <iostream>

std::mutex mtx;
int counter = 0;

void increment() {
    std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lock(mtx);
    ++counter;
    std::cout << "Counter: " << counter << std::endl;
}

int main() {
    std::thread t1(increment);
    std::thread t2(increment);
    t1.join();
    t2.join();
    return 0;
}