What is a thread-safe program?

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What is a thread-safe program?

A thread-safe program is a program that is designed to be executed by multiple threads concurrently without causing any unexpected or incorrect behavior. In a thread-safe program, the shared data and resources are properly synchronized and managed to ensure that concurrent access by multiple threads does not lead to race conditions, data corruption, or other concurrency-related issues.

To achieve thread safety, various techniques can be employed, such as the use of synchronization mechanisms like locks, semaphores, or atomic operations. These mechanisms help in coordinating the access to shared resources, ensuring that only one thread can modify or access them at a time, while other threads wait their turn.

Additionally, thread-safe programs may also utilize techniques like immutability, where objects are designed to be unmodifiable once created, eliminating the need for synchronization. Another approach is to use thread-local storage, where each thread has its own copy of data, avoiding the need for synchronization altogether.

Overall, a thread-safe program ensures that concurrent execution of multiple threads does not lead to unexpected or incorrect results, maintaining the integrity and consistency of the program's execution.