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Race condition
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<p>A race condition or race hazard is the condition of an <a href="/facts/Electronics/E4JhgISq">electronics</a>, <a href="/facts/Software/RP79lVSW">software</a>, or other <a href="/facts/System/hmqQ4ASX">system</a> where the system's substantive behavior is <a href="/facts/Sequential_logic/Rcs4thlu">dependent</a> on the sequence or timing of other uncontrollable events, leading to unexpected or inconsistent results. It becomes a <a href="/facts/Software_bug/I1uSXySv">bug</a> when one or more of the possible behaviors is undesirable. </p><p>The term <i>race condition</i> was already in use by 1954, for example in <a href="/facts/David_A._Huffman/4fbz13XB">David A. Huffman</a>'s doctoral thesis "The synthesis of sequential switching circuits". </p><p>Race conditions can occur especially in <a href="/facts/Logic_circuit/RHLulvKI">logic circuits</a> or <a href="/facts/Thread_(computing)/hh8WHyPd">multithreaded</a> or <a href="/facts/Distributed_computing/o5nyhqTF">distributed</a> software programs. Using <a href="/facts/Mutual_exclusion/1dwvCxDW">mutual exclusion</a> can prevent race conditions in distributed software systems. </p>