What is Monitor?

The monitor is a synchronization mechanism which is a high-level functioning mechanism. The monitor is a language-level mechanism that offers threads to synchronize and communicate internally with each other for accessing shared resources.  Monitor support is incorporated into some programming languages, such as Java and C#, whereas it is explicitly implemented via Mutexes and condition variables in others.

The fundamental goal of a Monitor is to offer a higher-level abstraction that enables threads to collaborate and access shared resources in a more effective and synchronized way. The Monitor enables threads to wait until certain conditions are met before moving forward, which can reduce busy waiting and enhance system efficiency.

Applications of Monitor

1. Parallel Processing: Using the Monitor mechanism, Parallel Processing can be easily implemented where various threads execute the different sections of a program in parallel order. This results in improving performance and scalability. 
2. Resource Sharing: A monitor can also be used to synchronize the access of shared resources like network configurations, files, hardware nodes, etc. 
3. Concurrent Algorithms: Sorting, searching, and graph traversal are examples of concurrent algorithms that are frequently implemented using monitors. Performance and scalability can be improved by using the Monitor, which provides a framework for coordinating the operations of several threads running various algorithmic steps.

Pre-requisites: Monitors in Process Synchronization

In the field of Computer Science and OS, Mutex, and Monitor are most of the important fundamental mechanisms which are synchronization used for managing the concurrent access of different shared resources by a number of threads and processes. The main goal of Mutex and Monitor are the same, but there are some key differences that make these terms unique. In this article, we will go through detailed information on Mutex and Monitor. Also, we will dive into the difference between these 2 fundamental mechanisms with respect to Functionality, Usage, Performance, and implementation.