https://nalar.dev/tags/systems-programming/ Recent content in Systems Programming on Nalar Hugo en-us Wed, 23 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://nalar.dev/lock-convoys-turn-short-critical-sections-into-long-queues/ Wed, 23 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://nalar.dev/lock-convoys-turn-short-critical-sections-into-long-queues/ <h1 id="lock-convoys-turn-short-critical-sections-into-long-queues">Lock Convoys Turn Short Critical Sections into Long Queues</h1> <p>A mutex can protect a tiny critical section and still become the center of a large latency problem. The code inside the lock may take only microseconds in normal operation, yet one delayed holder can allow several threads to accumulate behind it. Once that queue exists, the lock may remain continuously contended as ownership passes from one waiting thread to another.</p>