Web Browsing Process Overview

Process Management and Types

• A web browser process uses a URL to fetch and display web content, terminating when done, allowing resource reclamation by the operating system.
• Programs are passive entities, while processes are active, involving sequential instruction execution.
• Single-threaded processes have one program counter; execution occurs one instruction at a time.
• Multithreaded processes have multiple program counters, allowing concurrent execution paths.
• Processes differ in execution even if they originate from the same program.
• The operating system manages user and system processes, scheduling, synchronization, communication, and resource allocation.

Memory Management

• Main memory, a large byte array, is essential for modern computing, serving as a primary storage space for CPU and I/O operations.
• The CPU fetches instructions and data from main memory, adhering to the von Neumann architecture.
• Data moved from disk to main memory for processing must be mapped to absolute addresses before execution.
• Efficient memory management is crucial for CPU utilization and responsiveness, requiring various management schemes based on situational needs.

Mobile Device Capabilities

• Mobile devices often have limited memory and processing capabilities compared to PCs (e.g., smartphones with 256 GB storage vs. desktops with 8 TB).
• Power consumption influences mobile devices to use smaller, slower processors with fewer cores than desktop systems.
• The dominant mobile operating systems are Apple iOS and Google Android, designed for respective hardware platforms.

Client-Server Computing

• Modern networks feature a client-server architecture where servers fulfill requests from client systems.
• Compute servers execute actions for clients (e.g., database queries), while file servers manage file operations (e.g., web servers delivering files).

Cloud Computing

• Cloud computing offers computing, storage, and applications as services over a network.
• Communication between processes can occur via shared memory or message passing to facilitate interaction across systems.

Error Detection and Resource Management

• Operating systems must constantly detect and mitigate errors across various hardware and user software.
• Resource allocation is a critical operating system function, managing CPU cycles, memory, and file storage for multiple concurrent processes.

CPU Scheduling: First-Come, First-Serve (FCFS)

• FCFS is a straightforward CPU scheduling algorithm where the earliest requesting process receives CPU access first.
• Implemented via a FIFO queue, FCFS maintains process order but can lead to long average waiting times.
• Example with processes P1 (24 ms), P2 (3 ms), and P3 (3 ms) illustrates varying average wait times based on arrival order:
  • Arrival Order P1, P2, P3 results in 17 ms average wait time.
  • Arrival Order P2, P3, P1 results in a significantly reduced average wait time of 3 ms.
• FCFS performance varies depending on process types (CPU-bound vs. I/O-bound), impacting overall efficiency and wait time dynamics.

This quiz explores the functionality of processes in a web browser, detailing how they handle URLs to display web pages. It emphasizes the distinction between programs and processes while outlining the role of the operating system in resource management. Understand how processes execute instructions to deliver content to users effectively.