Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

M362 - Definitions > Unit 02 > Flashcards

Unit 02 Flashcards

1
Q

activation frames

A

A data structure storing information about a method call in Java that allows the method to resume after being placed on a stack.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

batch process

A

A process that does not require user interaction.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

blocked process

A

A process that is unable to proceed because it is waiting for some event to occur.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

buffer

A

An area of memory used for communication between processes or devices.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

busy-waiting

A

Repeatedly checking and rechecking some condition in a loop until it becomes true.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

cache

A

An area of high-speed memory local to the CPU holding recently accessed data.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

compilation

A

The process by which source code is translated into machine code in one operation.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

context

A

A record of the condition of a process at a point in time, that is, the internal state of the process (not to be confused with process state, which is a categorisation of the process at a higher level).

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

context switch

A

The saving of the context of one process and the loading of the context of another.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

context switching

A

The act of performing a context switch.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

cooperative multitasking

A

Multitasking that is dependent on processes voluntarily ceding way to each other from time to time.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

cooperative multithreading

A

Multithreading that is dependent on threads voluntarily ceding way to each other from time to time.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

daemon thread

A

A thread that runs without interaction and which the JVM does not have to wait for when exiting.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

data width

A

The amount of data that a device can handle at a time.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

device controller

A

A piece of hardware that can interact with a device independently of a system processor.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

device driver

A

A piece of software used to communicate with a hardware device.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

short-term scheduler. (aka dispatcher)

A

A process scheduler concerned mainly with which process is allowed to run next.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

event-dispatching thread

A

A Java thread that can be used to respond to events in GUIs.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

faults

A

A class of interrupt caused by hardware failure.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

fetch–execute cycle

A

The cycle by which the next instruction to be executed is retrieved and completed by a CPU.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

heap

A

A dynamically allocated area of memory used to store objects in the JVM.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

interpreted (programming language)

A

A programming language where source code is translated to machine code in stages rather than all at once.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

interrupt

A

A mechanism by which a device or software can signal that an event has occurred.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

interrupt handler

A

A software routine responsible for managing interrupts.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
interrupt rate limiting
A technique employed by hardware to prevent a flood of interrupts being created.
26
interrupt storm
The condition under which more interrupts are generated than can be dealt with.
27
I/O interrupts
The class of interrupts concerned with input and output events.
28
Java Runtime Environment (JRE)
An implementation of the Java Virtual Machine specification, providing an environment supporting the loading and running of Java programs and support from library code.
29
Java Virtual Machine (JVM)
A specification for the Java Runtime Environment.
30
thread (aka lightweight process)
A lightweight process; a thread of execution.
31
long-term scheduler
A process scheduler that controls the admission of new processes to a system to achieve a desirable mix of runnable processes.
32
machine code
Platform-dependent, CPU-specific, low-level code.
33
medium-term scheduler
A process scheduler that manages the swapping of processes to and from secondary storage.
34
multitasking
Execution of several tasks at the same time, whether by parallel or concurrent processing techniques.
35
multithreaded
Containing more than one thread.
36
multithreaded operating system
An operating system that supports multithreaded processes.
37
non-pre-emptive multitasking
A process scheduling policy allowing a process to run to completion before applying a selection function.
38
normalised turnaround time
The value q/s, where q is the turnaround time and s is the service time.
39
null process
A process executed by the scheduler when no other processes are Runnable; can be used to perform housekeeping tasks or to simplify a scheduling algorithm.
40
persistent storage
Storage that does not require power (cf. volatile) such as a disk drive.
41
platform
The combination of hardware and software underlying a program’s execution.
42
polling
The technique of repeatedly checking for an event.
43
pre-emptive multitasking
A process scheduling policy that may require a process to give up the CPU before it would ordinarily have done so.
44
pre-emptive multithreading
A thread scheduling policy that may require a thread to give up the CPU before it has completed running.
45
priority
A number used to indicate the importance of a process, thread or interrupt.
46
privileged instructions
Machine code instructions that may only be executed by a processor in supervisor mode.
47
process
A program under execution.
48
process descriptor
A data structure containing sufficient information about a process to allow it to be paused and restarted.
49
process identifier
A unique value (ID) distinguishing one process from another.
50
process scheduler
A general term for software that manages process state transitions according to a scheduling policy.
51
process state
A high-level categorisation of a process in terms of what it may do next, for example, Runnable or Blocked.
52
process table
A data structure used by an operating system to store information about processes.
53
program counter
A pointer to the next instruction to be executed in a program.
54
program interrupts
A class of interrupt generated by software due to an exception.
55
quantum
A time during which a process may run under a pre-emptive scheduling policy.
56
registers
High-speed memory, local to the CPU, used to execute instructions.
57
responsiveness
An indication of whether a system is acceptably fast in its response to a request for action or information (the definition of what is acceptable depends on the context).
58
runnable process
A process that may be selected to be run; same as a ready process.
59
running process
A process that is being executed by the CPU.
60
runtime environment
The software environment supporting loading, linking to libraries and execution of programs.
61
scheduling policy
A policy contributing to process state change at any given time and in particular determining which process is allowed to run.
62
selection function
A function used by a scheduler to select which process is allowed to run.
63
service time
The time a process would run if it had sole use of the CPU.
64
short-term scheduler
A process scheduler concerned mainly with which process is allowed to run next.
65
stack
A last-in, first-out (LIFO) data structure, used to store activation records for Java threads.
66
supervisor call interrupt
An interrupt used to signal that supervisor instructions are to be executed.
67
supervisor mode
The mode a CPU enters to execute supervisor instructions.
68
suspended process (aka swapped out)
A process that is stored on a disk; same as swapped out.
69
swapping
The action of moving a process from volatile to persistent storage.
70
system bus
A hardware channel for data transmission between device controllers and CPU.
71
task
A sequence of instructions treated as an element of work. A task may be represented by a method in a Java program, for example, but the term is more widely applied and can refer to elements of work at a low (processor) or high (application) level.
72
thread
A lightweight process; a thread of execution.
73
thread of execution
A path of execution within a process.
74
throughput
The number of processes completed per unit of time by a CPU.
75
timer interrupts
A class of interrupt used to keep track of the passage of time; used by schedulers to pre-empt processes.
76
turnaround
The time interval between the submission of a process and its completion.
77
user mode
The CPU mode when it is executing ordinary (not supervisor) instructions.
78
user thread
A thread created by a user; a non-daemon thread.
79
virtual memory
External memory; persistent storage used to supplement main memory.
80
volatile storage
Storage that requires power in order to retain any data stored in it, for example RAM, cache and registers.

M362 - Definitions (12 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions