locking
n. uncountablen. a way to stop two people or programs from changing the same piece of information at the same time. It makes sure that only one person can edit a file while others wait their turn.
n. a mechanism used to manage concurrent access to a shared resource by multiple processes or threads. It ensures data integrity by preventing simultaneous modifications that could lead to corruption or inconsistency.
The software uses file locking to prevent data errors.
Database locking ensures that two travel agents cannot book the last available seat on a flight at the exact same moment.
In distributed systems, optimistic locking allows multiple users to attempt updates simultaneously, only checking for conflicts at the moment the transaction is committed to the central repository.
From lock + -ing.
Often used as a modifier in compound nouns like 'file locking' or 'record locking'.