A scheduling challenge arises when a higher-priority process needs to read or modify kernel data that are currently being accessed by a lower-priority process—or a chain of lower-priority processes. Since kernel data are typically protected with a lock, the higher-priority process will have to wait for a lower-priority one to finish with the resource. The situation becomes more complicated if the lower-priority process is preempted in favor of another process with a higher priority
As an example, assume we have three processes—L, M, and H—whose priorities follow the order L < M < H. Assume that process H requires resource R, which is currently being accessed by process L. Ordinarily, process H would wait for L to finish using resource R. However, now suppose that process M becomes runnable, thereby preempting process L. Indirectly, a process with a lower priority—process M—has affected how long process H must wait for L to relinquish resource R
This problem is known as priority inversion. It occurs only in systems with more than two priorities, so one solution is to have only two priorities. That is insufficient for most general-purpose operating systems, however. Typically these systems solve the problem by implementing a priority-inheritance protocol
Example of The structure of the producer process
do {
...
/* produce an item in next produced */
...
wait(empty);
wait(mutex);
...
/* add next produced to the buffer */
...
signal(mutex);
signal(full);
}