Monitors - aryanjoshi0823/5143-Operating-System GitHub Wiki

What Are Monitors?

A monitor is essentially a module that encapsulates a shared resource and provides access to that resource through a set of procedures. The key features of monitors include:

1. Mutual Exclusion: Only one process can access the shared resource at any given time.
2. Process Suspension: Processes waiting for the resource are suspended until it becomes available.
3. Simplification: Provides a structured way of sharing data and synchronization information.
4. Condition variables are used for process coordination within the monitor.

Key Advantages

• Simplifies Implementation: Monitors hide the complexity of synchronization.
• Encapsulation: Synchronization logic is encapsulated within the monitor, making it easier to reason about system correctness.
• High-Level Abstraction: Reduces the need for complex primitives like semaphores and locks.

Limitations

• Overhead: May be less efficient than lower-level synchronization primitives due to abstraction.
• Not Universally Applicable: Some synchronization problems may require lower-level primitives for optimal performance.