Great Big Lock

In computing science, the Great Big Lock algorithm is a simple algorithm for the protection of critical sections. This is the simplest version of such algorithms. The basics is to have a lock; the lock would prevent anything from occurring at the same time as anything else that is protected. It is often considered extremely lazy to use a GBL instead of the more complex algorithms, but there are cases where it fits. All other algorithms take great amounts of time to ensure the system does not deadlock or to prevent any race conditions, and a slight error could cause the algorithm to not work. If, in the normal operation of the program, there would not likely be any conflicts or when the input time far exceeds the processing time, it could be entirely acceptable for a user to wait a second or two for an operation. This makes it extremely easy to design, construct, or maintain code and it is difficult to break the algorithm.