Explain the Global Interpreter Lock (GIL) in Python and Its Implications for Multi-Threaded Programs

The Global Interpreter Lock (GIL) is a mutex in Python. It prevents multiple native threads from executing Python bytecodes simultaneously. This means that even in multi-threaded programs, only one thread can execute Python code at a time.

Implications of GIL include limitations in CPU-bound multi-threaded applications. However, I/O-bound applications are less affected by GIL.

Example of GIL impact:

import threading

def task():
    print('Task executed')

threads = [threading.Thread(target=task) for _ in range(10)]
for thread in threads:
    thread.start()
for thread in threads:
    thread.join()