Mutual exclusion can be provided by the __________a.Mutex locksb.Both mutex locks and binary semaphoresc.None of the mentionedd.Binary semaphores

The answer is b. Both mutex locks and binary semaphores.

Step 1: Understanding the question The question is asking which of the given options can provide mutual exclusion. Mutual exclusion is a concurrency control property in computer science, which is used to prevent multiple processes from accessing the same resource at the same time.

Step 2: Analyzing the options a. Mutex locks: Mutex (or Mutual Exclusion Object) is a program object that allows multiple program threads to share the same resource, such as file access, but not simultaneously. When a program is started, a mutex is created with a unique name. b. Both mutex locks and binary semaphores: A binary semaphore is a semaphore with an integer value