Deadlock

What Does Deadlock Mean?

In general computing, a deadlock is a situation where two different programs or processes depend on one another for completion, either because both are using the same resources or because of erroneous cues or other problems.

Techopedia Explains Deadlock

Modern operating systems use various threads and multitasking for programs and processes. There are certain situations where the operating system may fail to manage a deadlock, causing processes to hang or freeze. Dealing with this is a major part of software engineering. For example, there can be a situation where two threads start and request resources from each other, and neither can go forward. This will require a significant observation of processes and changes that will work around these hangups.

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Margaret Rouse

Technology expert

Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret’s idea of a fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.

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