DeadLock vs Spinlock

Dead Lock: In concurrent computing, a deadlock occurs when two competing actions wait for the other
to finish, and thus neither ever does. Deadlock is a common problem in multiprocessing systems,
parallel computing, and distributed systems, where software and hardware locks are used to handle
shared resources and implement process synchronization.

Spinlock: In software engineering, a spinlock is a lock which causes a thread trying to acquire it to
simply wait in a loop ("spin") while repeatedly checking if the lock is available. Since the thread
remains active but is not performing a useful task, the use of such a lock is a kind of busy waiting. Once
acquired, spinlocks will usually be held until they are explicitly released, although in some
implementations they may be automatically released if the thread being waited on (that which holds the
lock) blocks, or "goes to sleep".

Summary: Deadlock is a problem, in concurrent programming. While Spinlock is a solution for

What is Spinlock?
It is a locking mechanism. It enables a thread to wait for the lock to become ready, i.e., the thread can
wait in a loop or spin until the lock is ready. It is only held for a short time, and it is useful in a
multiprocessor system. The thread holds the spinlock until it is released after acquiring the lock. In some
implementations, the spinlock is automatically released if the thread holding the lock is blocked or goes
to sleep state.

A spinlock also avoids the overhead caused by OS process rescheduling or context switching.
Furthermore, the spinlock is an effective method to block the threads temporarily. As a result, spinlocks
are used in most of the operating system kernels. However, if a thread keeps a spinlock for an extended
period of time, it may prevent other threads from executing. In this case, the other threads repeatedly try
to acquire the lock, while the thread holding the lock doesn't begin to release it. Generally, it may
mainly occur in single-processor systems.

Advantages and disadvantages of spinlock

There are various advantages and disadvantages of a spinlock. Some of the advantages and
disadvantages of the spinlock are as follows:

Advantages

1. It does not require a context switch because it is busy waiting, and the thread is not sleeping.
2. If the critical section (CS) is smaller, it is helpful.

Disadvantages

1. Spinlock needs busy waiting.

Main Differences between the Spinlock and Semaphore

1. Spinlock may be used for mutual exclusion. In contrast, semaphores may be used either for
mutual exclusion or a counting semaphore.
2. Spinlocks permit only a single process at any particular time to access the critical section. In
contrast, semaphore allows multiple processes at any particular time to access the critical
section.
3. Spinlock may have only two values which are Locked and Unlocked. In contrast, in semaphore,
the mutex will have a value 1 or 0, but if used like a semaphore, it may have different values.
4. Spinlock allows only a single thread at a time to acquire the lock and proceed it with a critical
section. In contrast, semaphore allows multiple threads to access the critical section.
5. Spinlock is a low-level synchronization mechanism. In contrast, the semaphore is a signaling
mechanism.
6. A process waiting for a lock in spinlock will have instant access to the critical section since the
process will poll for the lock continually. In contrast, a process waiting for a lock in semaphore
may not enter the crucial section as soon as the lock is released since the process has gone to
sleep and will enter the critical section when it is woken up.
7. Spinlock is a busy-wait process. In contrast, the semaphore is a sleep wait process.

Head-to-head Comparison between the Spinlock and Semaphore

Spinlock Semaphore
It may be used either for mutual exclusion or a
It may be used for mutual exclusion.
counting semaphore.
Spinlock is a low-level synchronization
It is a signaling mechanism.
technique.
If a spinlock is held for a long time, it may be There is no resource wastage of resources and process
wasteful. time.
Spinlocks are very effective because they are It is held for a longer time, and it uses spinlock to get
blocked only for a short period of time. access to its control structure.
It permits only a single thread at a time to
It permits multiple threads to access the critical
acquire the lock and proceed it with a critical
section.
section.
It is a busy-wait process. It is a sleep wait process.
Spinlocks are ineffective in uniprocessor systems Semaphore is helpful in uniprocessor systems since
because they keep the processor busy each time they do not keep the processor busy while waiting for
it polls the lock and prevents any other process
the lock.
from functioning.
In semaphore, the mutex will have a value 1 or 0, but
It may have only two values which are Locked
it may have different values if used as a counting
and Unlocked.
semaphore.
It permits only a single process at a time to It permits several processes at any particular time to
access in the critical section. access the critical section.
While holding a spinlock, it is recommended to
It may be locked with interrupt enabled.
disable the interrupts.
It may be used to synchronize between many
It is valid for only a single process.
processes.
A process waiting for a lock in semaphore may not
A process waiting for a lock in spinlock will
enter the crucial section as soon as the lock is released
have instant access to the critical section since
since the process has gone to sleep and will enter the
the process will poll for the lock continually.
critical section when it is woken up.

Conclusion
Spinlock is a low-level synchronization method. It's simple and quick to install. However, it wastes
system resources. On the other hand, semaphores provide a more advanced solution to the process
synchronization problem. They don't waste system resources as they put the waiting processes to sleep.
Still, if semaphores are used carelessly, they might cause deadlocks.