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How To Use Semaphore

Semaphores are used to control access to shared resources between processes. This document discusses how to use POSIX semaphores in C code. It explains how to initialize a semaphore with sem_init, lock it with sem_wait, release it with sem_post, and destroy it with sem_destroy. Header file semaphore.h must be included to use these POSIX semaphore functions.

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S. M. Sabit Bananee, Lecturer, CSE
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43 views2 pages

How To Use Semaphore

Semaphores are used to control access to shared resources between processes. This document discusses how to use POSIX semaphores in C code. It explains how to initialize a semaphore with sem_init, lock it with sem_wait, release it with sem_post, and destroy it with sem_destroy. Header file semaphore.h must be included to use these POSIX semaphore functions.

Uploaded by

S. M. Sabit Bananee, Lecturer, CSE
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Posix Semaphore Implementation

Semaphore: In computer science, a semaphore is a variable or abstract data type


used to control access to a common resource by multiple processes in a concurrent
system such as a multitasking operating system. A semaphore is simply a variable.

In this article, we will explore how we can use semaphore in C language.

We have the POSIX semaphore library in Linux systems. We will use this in our
case
 Include semaphore.h header file

To lock a semaphore, we can use the sem_wait function:

To release or signal a semaphore, we use the sem_post function:

A semaphore is initialised by using sem_init (for processes or threads)


or sem_open (for Interprocess communication):

sem: Specifies the semaphore to be initialized.


pshared: This argument specifies whether or not the newly initialized semaphore
is shared between processes or between threads. A non-zero value means the
semaphore is shared between processes and a value of zero means it is shared
between threads.
value: Specifies the value to assign to the newly initialized semaphore.
To destroy a semaphore, we can use sem_destroy function:

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