What is a semaphore?

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What is a semaphore?

A semaphore is a synchronization primitive used in concurrent programming to control access to a shared resource. It is a variable that maintains a count and supports two main operations: wait and signal. The wait operation decreases the count and blocks if the count becomes negative, while the signal operation increases the count and unblocks a waiting thread if the count becomes non-negative. Semaphores can be used to solve various synchronization problems and ensure mutual exclusion and coordination among multiple threads or processes.