What term describes the capability for a task to run with exclusive access to resources, preventing multiple tasks from accessing or modifying critical resources at the same time?

The term that describes the capability for a task to run with exclusive access to resources, thereby preventing multiple tasks from simultaneously accessing or modifying critical resources, is atomic execution. Atomic execution ensures that a series of operations are completed as a single, indivisible operation. This means that either all parts of the task are executed successfully, or none are, which helps maintain data integrity and prevents race conditions.

In computing, atomicity is a fundamental concept often associated with transactions in databases, where it guarantees that a series of database operations will either succeed entirely or have no effect at all, ensuring that the system remains in a consistent state. This is crucial in multi-threaded environments where concurrent operations could lead to conflicts and unintended modifications of shared data or resources.

The other terms mentioned do not fit this definition. For example, Cron is a time-based job scheduler in Unix-like operating systems, while Time of Check and Time of Use relate to potential security vulnerabilities in how a system evaluates resources versus how they are ultimately used, rather than addressing the concept of exclusive access during task execution.