Why is the synchronized keyword in Java called 'synchronized' instead of the more precise 'mutexed'?
java, synchronized
Solution
It is not a mistake. It means what it says; the code has to synchronize with other threads to provide mutual exclusion. And, in fact, the term synchronized may make more sense than "mutex", since "mutex" implies a very particular type of synchronization primitive, and the synchronized keyword could be implemented using any number of thread syncrhonization primitives (test&set with active polling, semaphores, etc.).
Problem
I've heard that choosing to use the word 'synchronized' to describe mutexed statements is simply a mistake (Edit: 'mistake' was a bad choice of words here. Please see edit) in Java, but I'm wondering if there is actually a reason behind the choice. [Edit] Prodded by Safyan's comments, I would like to add that synchronization is a general term for establishing timing relationships between threads. It can include mutual exclusion and things like rate control (eg. two threads doing something at the same rate). It appears unnecessarily ambiguous to use 'synchronized' to mean mutual exclusion instead of a more specific keyword like 'mutexed'.