How to have processes (not threads) in C # synchronize file system access

Question

Earlier today, I was debugging something like this:

class Foo {

    void AccessCriticalSection() {
        try {
            if (IO.File.Exists("\\path\to\lock.txt")
                throw new Exception();
            System.IO.File.Create("\\path\to\lock.txt");
            criticalSection();          
        } catch (Exception ex) {
            // ignored
        } 
    }

    void CriticalSection() {
        // banana banana banana
        System.IO.File.Delete("\\path\to\lock.txt");
    }

}

He doesn’t even understand how terrible this is ... but he is essentially trying to use a file called lock.txtas his mutex. The operation is not atomic, other processes simply do not go through the critical section if another process uses it (they are intended to continue after the lock is released, if you can believe it), etc. Etc. Obviously it should be fixed.

? , , (.. , , , private final static Object lock = new Object(); )

Answer 1

Mutex.

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class Program
{
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        const string SHARED_MUTEX_NAME = "something";
        int pid = Process.GetCurrentProcess().Id;

        using (Mutex mtx = new Mutex(false, SHARED_MUTEX_NAME))
        {
            while (true)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("Press any key to let process {0} acquire the shared mutex.", pid);
                Console.ReadKey();

                while (!mtx.WaitOne(1000))
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("Process {0} is waiting for the shared mutex...", pid);
                }

                Console.WriteLine("Process {0} has acquired the shared mutex. Press any key to release it.", pid);
                Console.ReadKey();

                mtx.ReleaseMutex();
                Console.WriteLine("Process {0} released the shared mutex.", pid);
            }
        }            
    }
}

:

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:

public static string NormalizePath(string path)
{
    return Path.GetFullPath(new Uri(path).LocalPath)
               .TrimEnd(Path.DirectorySeparatorChar, Path.AltDirectorySeparatorChar)
               .ToUpperInvariant();
}