What is a data race? Why should it be avoided?

Data race (race condition) occurs when multiple threads or goroutines access the same variable simultaneously without proper synchronization, and at least one of them tries to modify its value.

This leads to unpredictable program behavior, errors, and debugging difficulties, as the outcome depends on the order of operations.

In Go, data races should be avoided using synchronization mechanisms such as mutexes (sync.Mutex), channels, or other tools to ensure sequential access to shared data.

An example of detecting a data race using the go run command:

go run -race main.go

This helps identify and fix issues related to concurrent access.