Are there any features of threads in Python? What is GIL?

In Python, there are specific behaviors when working with threads due to the GIL (Global Interpreter Lock) — a global lock on the interpreter.

The GIL ensures that only one thread executes Python bytecode at a time, which simplifies memory management and prevents race conditions within the interpreter.

Because of the GIL, multithreading in Python does not provide a performance boost for CPU-intensive tasks, as threads do not run in parallel on multiple cores.

However, for I/O-bound tasks (network, input/output), threads work efficiently because the GIL is released during I/O waiting.

For parallel execution of CPU tasks in Python, multiprocessing (the multiprocessing module) is usually used, which launches multiple processes with separate interpreters and GIL.