Operating Systems Process Management

Process Management

Process management is a crucial aspect of operating systems that deals with the creation, execution, and termination of processes.

Process Types

• Process: A program in execution, including the current activity, memory, and system resources.
• Thread: A lightweight process that shares memory and resources with other threads within the same process.
• Parent Process: A process that creates a new process.
• Child Process: A process created by a parent process.

Process States

• Newborn: A process is created and is being initialized.
• Running: A process is currently executing instructions.
• Waiting: A process is waiting for a resource or event to occur.
• Ready: A process is waiting for the CPU to become available.
• Zombie: A process that has finished execution but still has an entry in the process table.
• Sleeping: A process that is waiting for a specific event or signal.

Process Scheduling

• Scheduling Algorithms: Determine the order in which processes are executed by the CPU.
  • First-Come-First-Served (FCFS): The process that arrives first is executed first.
  • Shortest Job First (SJF): The process with the shortest burst time is executed first.
  • Priority Scheduling: Processes are assigned a priority, and the highest priority process is executed first.
  • Round Robin (RR): Each process is given a fixed time slice (time quantum) to execute before the next process is scheduled.

Process Synchronization

• Synchronization: The coordination of processes to ensure that they access shared resources without conflicts.
• Critical Section: A section of code that accesses shared resources and must be executed by only one process at a time.
• Synchronization Mechanisms:
  • Mutex: A lock that allows only one process to access a shared resource.
  • Semaphore: A counter that limits the number of processes that can access a shared resource.
  • Monitor: A high-level synchronization mechanism that provides a safe and efficient way to access shared resources.

Process Communication

• Inter-Process Communication (IPC): The exchange of data or information between processes.
• IPC Mechanisms:
  • Pipes: A unidirectional communication channel between two processes.
  • Message Queues: A buffer that stores messages sent between processes.
  • Shared Memory: A shared region of memory that can be accessed by multiple processes.
  • Sockets: A communication endpoint that allows processes to communicate over a network.

Process Management

• Process management deals with the creation, execution, and termination of processes in an operating system.

Process Types

• A process is a program in execution, including current activity, memory, and system resources.
• A thread is a lightweight process that shares memory and resources with other threads within the same process.
• A parent process creates a new process, and a child process is created by a parent process.

Process States

• A newborn process is being initialized after creation.
• A running process is currently executing instructions.
• A waiting process is waiting for a resource or event to occur.
• A ready process is waiting for the CPU to become available.
• A zombie process has finished execution but still has an entry in the process table.
• A sleeping process is waiting for a specific event or signal.

Process Scheduling

• Scheduling algorithms determine the order in which processes are executed by the CPU.
• First-Come-First-Served (FCFS) scheduling executes the process that arrives first.
• Shortest Job First (SJF) scheduling executes the process with the shortest burst time first.
• Priority Scheduling executes the process with the highest priority first.
• Round Robin (RR) scheduling gives each process a fixed time slice (time quantum) to execute before the next process is scheduled.

Process Synchronization

• Synchronization coordinates processes to access shared resources without conflicts.
• A critical section is a section of code that accesses shared resources and must be executed by only one process at a time.
• Mutex is a lock that allows only one process to access a shared resource.
• Semaphore is a counter that limits the number of processes that can access a shared resource.
• Monitor is a high-level synchronization mechanism that provides a safe and efficient way to access shared resources.

Process Communication

• Inter-Process Communication (IPC) is the exchange of data or information between processes.
• Pipes are a unidirectional communication channel between two processes.
• Message Queues are a buffer that stores messages sent between processes.
• Shared Memory is a shared region of memory that can be accessed by multiple processes.
• Sockets are a communication endpoint that allows processes to communicate over a network.