DSSSB TGT CS Mock 03 – Question 179

In Python, what is the Global Interpreter Lock (GIL)?

• A mutex that allows only one native thread to execute Python bytecode at a time in CPython
• A security sandbox that prevents unauthorized file access
• A database connection lock for multi-threaded SQLite access
• A compiler optimization that vectorizes loops

In CPython, the GIL is a mutual-exclusion lock used to synchronize thread execution and manage reference counting memory safety, preventing multiple CPU cores from executing Python bytecode simultaneously within a single process.