A deadlock is a situation in computing where a set of processes are unable to proceed because each process is waiting for another to release resources that they are holding. This results in a standstill where no progress can be made. Deadlocks are a significant issue in concurrent computing, multiprocessing systems, parallel computing, and distributed systems, where resources are often shared and process synchronization is necessary.
In a typical deadlock situation, there are usually at least two processes that hold some resources and are waiting to acquire resources held by the other process. The processes cannot continue with their tasks because the resources they need are being blocked by the other processes. This creates a cycle of dependency with no process able to proceed, and as a result, the system may become unresponsive or may operate inefficiently.
The occurrence of a deadlock is typically characterized by the simultaneous presence of the following four conditions:
Mutual Exclusion: At least one resource must be non-shareable. Only one process can use the resource at any given time.
Hold and Wait: Processes holding resources allocated to them may request new resources without releasing their current resources.
No Preemption: Resources cannot be forcibly removed from the processes holding them; they must be released voluntarily.
Circular Wait: There exists a set of processes $$ P_1, P_2, ..., P_n $$ such that each $$ P_i $$ is waiting for a resource that is held by $$ P_{(i+1)%n} $$, creating a circular chain of processes.
To handle deadlocks, various strategies can be employed, including dead...
