How to Achieve Thread Safety in Go: Mutexes, Atomics, or Channels?

How to Implement Thread-Safety for Variables in Go

In Java, the concept of synchronized variables ensures that only a single thread can execute a specific code block at any given time. However, Go does not offer an explicit synchronized keyword.

Rationale

Go promotes a different approach to thread synchronization, guided by the principle: "Do not communicate by sharing memory; instead, share memory by communicating." This means avoiding direct access to shared memory and opting for communication-based mechanisms like channels.

Mutex-Based Synchronization

Should you encounter a scenario where a mutex is necessary, here's how to implement it in Go:

var (
    mu        sync.Mutex
    protectMe int
)

func getMe() int {
    mu.Lock()
    me := protectMe
    mu.Unlock()
    return me
}

func setMe(me int) {
    mu.Lock()
    protectMe = me
    mu.Unlock()
}

Improvements

• Convert sync.Mutex to sync.RWMutex to enable concurrent read access.
• Consider using defer to avoid resource leaks in case of errors.
• Embed the mutex within the protected value to enhance code readability and convenience.

Atomic Synchronization

If you need to protect a single value, consider using the sync/atomic package:

var protectMe int32

func getMe() int32 {
    return atomic.LoadInt32(&protectMe)
}

func setMe(me int32) {
    atomic.StoreInt32(&protectMe, me)
}

Communication-Based Approach

Go encourages using channels for inter-goroutine communication, eliminating the need for shared variables. For example, in a publisher-subscriber pattern:

type topic struct {
    subscribing []chan int
}

var t = &topic{}

func subscribe() chan int {
    ch := make(chan int)
    t.subscribing = append(t.subscribing, ch)
    return ch
}

func publish(v int) {
    for _, ch := range t.subscribing {
        ch <p>This approach ensures thread-safe communication without sharing memory.</p>

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