How to synchronize threads using locks

In this post we will extend a previous example about multithreading. Here's how to synchronize two threads using a simple lock:

import threading
import thread
import time

class MyThread(threading.Thread):
 def __init__(self, myName, lock):
  threading.Thread.__init__(self)
  self.myName = myName
  self.lock = lock

 def run(self):
  while True:
   self.lock.acquire()
   print self.myName,'is in the critical section the lock'
   time.sleep(1) # wait 1 second
   print self.myName,'releasing the lock'
   self.lock.release()
   

if __name__=="__main__":
 lock=thread.allocate_lock()
 thread1 = MyThread("1",lock)
 thread1.start()
 thread2 = MyThread("2",lock)
 thread2.start()
 while True: pass

A thread can't print in the console until he acquires the lock. The output will be similar to this:

1 is in the critical section the lock
1 releasing the lock
2 is in the critical section the lock
2 releasing the lock
1 is in the critical section the lock
1 releasing the lock
2 is in the critical section the lock
2 releasing the lock
2 is in the critical section the lock
2 releasing the lock
1 is in the critical section the lock
1 releasing the lock
2 is in the critical section the lock
2 releasing the lock
...

WARNING: This is a simple example with two threads and only one critical section, more complicated situation need other synchronization mechanisms.