What is a process in the operating system how it differs from a computer program?
Program is a passive entity as it resides in the secondary memory. Process is a active entity as it is created during execution and loaded into the main memory. 3. Program exists at a single place and continues to exist until it is deleted.
How does an operating system execute a program?
When you double-click the program, the operating system “launches” the program, doing the housekeeping steps of allocating an area of memory within RAM for the program, loading the first section of the program’s machine code into that memory, and finally directing the CPU to start running that code.
What is a computer’s operating system responsible for and how does it facilitate the execution of programs?
The Operating System controls and coordinates the use of the hardware among the various users and the application programs. We can view an Operating System as a resource allocator. A computer system has many resources, which are to be required to solve a computing problem.
How does a program become a process?
A process is an instance of a program that is executing. Each instance has its own address space and execution state. When the operating system has added the appropriate information in the kernel data structures and has allocated the necessary resources to run the program code, the program has become a process.
How does computer process information?
Input devices accept data in a form that the computer can use; they then send the data to the processing unit. The processor, more formally known as the central processing unit (CPU), has the electronic circuitry that manipulates input data into the information people want.
What happens when two different programs are run on a computer at the same time?
multitasking, the running of multiple programs (sets of instructions) in one computer at the same time. Multitasking is used to keep all of a computer’s resources at work as much of the time as possible.
How does the CPU decide which process to execute?
CPUs are extremely fast, so if a program is processed for even a short time it can do quite a lot. The OS decides the best way to swap between running, runnable and waiting processes. It controls which process is being executed by the CPU at any point in time, and shares access to the CPU between processes.
How does an operating system interact with applications and hardware?
The operating system provides an interface between an application program and the computer hardware, so that an application program can interact with the hardware only by obeying rules and procedures programmed into the operating system.
How is the execution context of a process used by the OS?
How is the execution context of a process used by the OS? The execution context, or process state, is the internal data by which the OS is able to supervise and control the process. This internal information is separated from the process, because the OS has information not permitted to the process.
What is the difference between process program and thread?
A process is a program under execution i.e an active program. A thread is a lightweight process that can be managed independently by a scheduler. Processes require more time for context switching as they are more heavy. Threads require less time for context switching as they are lighter than processes.
Which part of computer actually executes program instructions?
A computer’s CPU executes your program’s instructions.
What are programs that tell the computer what to do?
software, instructions that tell a computer what to do. Software comprises the entire set of programs, procedures, and routines associated with the operation of a computer system.