OS Topic 9 - Processes and scheduling Flashcards
The ability of an operating system to run more than one program at a time is known as m________________
multitasking
Processes are concurrent if their lifetimes o______, even if that happens because a single processor rapidly switches execution between different processes so they are never r_______ at the same instant.
overlap
running
Of course, with multiple cores, processes can be running at the same instant, and we could then use the technical term p________
parallel
The issues for the OS for concurrent and true parallel processes are the s______, so OSs must be designed for the more g______ case of concurrent processes.
same
general
The issues for the OS for concurrent and true parallel processes are the same. What are some of the issues?
In both cases, there could be contention for the same resources: shared files, I/O devices and memory.
Most operating systems provide an alternative to the process. This alternative is called a t________.
thread
A thread represents a separate execution of a program, just as a process does, but threads share the m_______ and other r___________ allocated to a single process. This means that the program can be structured as two or more tasks that are being executed apparently at the same time and that share the same data.
memory
resources
An advantage of threads over processes is that, because they share memory and other resources, the operating system can create them more q_________ and switch between them more q__________.
quickly
quickly
True or False?
Each process is an independent entity.
True
Task Manager
The number of active tasks will vary according to what software you are running.
Each one has a unique PID.
What does PID stand for?
process identifier
Task Manager
RSS: the amount of physical memory currently used. What does RSS stand for?
(resident set size)
Task Manager
What does VM-Size stand for?
(virtual memory size) the total amount of memory used by the process
Task Manager
What does User mean?
name of process user
Task Manager
What is ‘State’
process state, shown as a variety of letters
Task Manager
What is ‘Prio’
process priority
Task Manager
What does PPID stand for?
parent process identifier.
Scheduling
One of the key tasks for an operating system is to manage d_____ on the p______, allocating appropriate processor time to different applications and to the operating system itself.
demand on the processor
Scheduling
The central problem is choosing which process to r_____ n______ and for h___ l____; this is known as scheduling.
run next
how long
Scheduling
Switches between processes need to happen many times a second to give the user the illusion of m_______________.
multitasking
Scheduling
Each process is allowed to run only for a short time-slice, often referred to as a q_______, for example 10 ms.
a quantum
Scheduling
A process that is replaced by another when its quantum expires is said to have been p___-e_______.
pre-empted
Scheduling
Frequent switching is particularly needed for an OS described as a real-time operating system.
What is meant by a real-time operating system?
This is a claim that it can respond to events ‘in real time’, something particularly important when software controls equipment.
Scheduling
Why is frequent switching important in a real-time operating system that we might see in equipment such as smart-devices in cars?
It would be disastrous for example if the computer system of an autonomous car stopped controlling the steering while the processor was busy calculating the best route.
Scheduling
Real-time must be specified in terms of time take to note an event, and time taken to deal with an event.
What is the maximum amount of time a real-time OS can take to identify an event?
What is the maximum amount of time that a real-time OS can take to handle the event?
10ms
50ms