Chapter : Processes

By: Navjot Kaur

 Chapter : Processes

 Process Concept

 Process Scheduling

 Operations on Processes
 Process
Program: Passive entity
 Process is instance of a program under
executing
 Process – a program in execution
– Active Entity b/c it has Program
Counter associated to it.

 Process execution must progress in

sequential manner
 A process includes:
 program counter
 stack
 data section
 Process
 A process has text section/ code section.

 It also includes the current activity, as represented by

the value of the program counter and the contents of
the processor’s registers.

 A process also includes the process stack, which

contains:
 temporary data (such as function parameters,
return addresses, and local variables)
 data section, which contains global variables.

 A process may also include a heap, which is memory

that is dynamically allocated during process run time.
 Process
 A program is a passive entity, such as a file
containing a list of instructions stored on disk.

 A process is an active entity with a program

counter specifying the next instruction to
execute and a set of associated resources.
 Process States
 As a process executes, it changes state
 new: The process is being created
 ready: The process is waiting to be
assigned to a processor and is ready to
get executed
 running: Instructions are being executed
 waiting: The process is waiting for some
event to occur/ waiting for resources
 terminated: The process has finished
execution
Process States
 Process Control Block (PCB)
Process Control Block (PCB, also called Task
Controlling Block) is a data structure in the
operating system kernel containing the
information needed to manage a particular
process.

The PCB is "the manifestation of a process in an

operating system".
 Process Control Block (PCB)
Information associated with each process:
1. Process State- new, ready….etc.
2. Pointer- to the parent process
3. Program Counter- next instruction to be
executed.
4. Process Number- Unique identification number
in OS
5. CPU Registers- Various CPU registers where
process need to be stored for execution for
running state.
6. CPU Scheduling Information- Process Priority
and other info. required for scheduling
 Process Control Block (PCB)
7. Memory-Management Information- Registers,
Page tables (where process is saved)used by
OS

8. Accounting Information- For how long CPU and

other resources are allocated to process

9. I/O Status Information- List of devices

allocated to the process
Process Control Block (PCB)
 MCQ
What is a Process Control Block?
A Process type variable
B Data Structure
C A secondary storage section
D A Block in memory
 MCQ
The entry of all the PCBs of the current
processes is in .....
A Process Register
B Program Counter
C Process Table
D Process Unit
 MCQ
 With _____________ only one process can execute at a
time; meanwhile all other process are waiting for
the processor. With ______________ more than one
process can be running simultaneously each on a
different processor.
 a) Multiprocessing, Multiprogramming
 b) Multiprogramming, Uniprocessing
 c) Multiprogramming, Multiprocessing
 d) Uniprogramming, Multiprocessing
 MCQ
 d
 MCQ
 Each process is identified by its :
 a) Process Control Block
 b) Device Queue
 c) Process Identifier
 d) None of the mentioned
 MCQ
 c
 Context Switch
When CPU switches
to another
process, the
system must save
the state of the
old process in the
stack and load
the saved state
for the new
process or reload
the state of
current process
from stack.
 Context Switch
 Switching the CPU to another process requires
saving the state of the old process and loading
the saved state for the new process. This task is
known as a context switch.
 The context of a process is represented in the
Process Control Block(PCB) of a process;
 it includes the value of the CPU registers, the
process state and memory-management
information.
 When a context switch occurs, the Kernel saves
the context of the old process in its PCB and
loads the saved context of the new process
scheduled to run.
 Context Switch
 Context switch time is pure overhead, because
the system does no useful work while switching.
 Its speed varies from machine to machine,
depending on the memory speed, the number of
registers that must be copied, and the existence
of special instructions(such as a single
instruction to load or store all registers).
 Typical speeds range from 1 to 1000
microseconds.
CPU Switch From Process to
Process
 Scheduling Queues
 The activity of determining which process in
the ready state should be moved to the running
state is known as Process Scheduling.

 The prime aim of the process scheduling

system is:
 To keep the CPU busy all the time and to
deliver minimum response time for all
programs.
 For achieving this, the scheduler must apply
appropriate rules for swapping processes.
 Scheduling Queues
Schedulers fall into one of two general
categories:

 Non-pre-emptive scheduling: When the

currently executing process gives up the CPU
voluntarily. Or releases the CPU when it is
completely executed.
 Pre-emptive scheduling: When the operating
system decides to favor another process, pre-
empting the resource (CPU) from the currently
executing process.
 Scheduling Queues
 The process scheduling is the activity of the
process manager that handles the removal of
the running process from the CPU and the
selection of another process on the basis of a
particular execution strategy.
 Scheduling Queues
 The OS maintains all PCBs in Process
Scheduling Queues.

 The OS maintains a separate queue for each of

the process states and PCBs of all processes
in the same execution state are placed in the
same queue.

 When the state of a process is changed, its

PCB is unlinked from its current queue and
moved to its new state queue.
 Process Scheduling Queues
 Job queue − This queue keeps all the
processes in the system.

 Ready queue − This queue keeps a set of all

processes residing in main memory, ready and
waiting to execute.
 A new process is always put in this queue.

 Device queues − The processes which are

blocked due to unavailability of an I/O device
constitute this queue.
Process Scheduling Queues
Representation of Process Scheduling

Queuing Diagram
Ready Queue And Various I/O Device Queues
Ready Queue is implemented using Linked
List
 MCQ
When the process issues an I/O request
__________
a) It is placed in an I/O queue
b) It is placed in a waiting queue
c) It is placed in the ready queue
d) It is placed in the Job queue
 MCQ
 Ans: a
 MCQ
What will happen when a process
terminates?
a) It is removed from all queues
b) It is removed from all, but the job queue
c) Its process control block is de-allocated
d) Its process control block is never de-
allocated
 MCQ
Ans: a
 MCQ
Suppose that a process is in “Blocked”
state waiting for some I/O service. When
the service is completed, it goes to the
__________
a) Running state
b) Ready state
c) Suspended state
d) Terminated state
 MCQ
Ans: b
 MCQ
The context of a process in the PCB of a
process does contain __________
I. the value of the CPU registers
II. the process state
III. memory-management information
IV. context switch time
A.Only I
B Both II and III
C I, II, III
D. All of the mentioned
 MCQ
Ans: c
Operations on Process

 1. Process Creation

 2. Process Termination
 Process Creation
 Parent process create children processes,
which, in turn create other processes, forming
a tree of processes
 The process which creates other process, is
termed the parent of the other process, while
the created sub-process is termed its child.
 Each process is given an integer identifier,
termed as process identifier, or PID. The
parent PID (PPID) is also stored for each
process.
 Process Creation (Cont.)
 Resource sharing
 Parent and children share all resources
 Children share subset of parent’s resources
 Parent and child share no resources
 Execution Sequence
 Parent and children execute concurrently
 Parent waits until children terminate
 Process Creation (Cont.)
 Address Space

Address space may refer to a range of either

physical or virtual addresses accessible to a
processor or reserved for a process.
 Child process is duplicate of the parent
process (same program and data
 Child process has a new program loaded into it
 Process Creation (Cont.)
 Each process is identified by its process identifier

 UNIX examples
 fork () system call creates new process
 exec() system call used after a fork to replace the process’ memory
space with a new program
 fork()
 System call fork() is used to create processes.

 It takes no arguments and returns a process ID.

 The purpose of fork() is to create

a new process, which becomes
the child process of the caller.

 After a new child process is

created, both processes will execute the next
instruction following the fork() system call.
This can be done by testing the returned value
of fork():

 If fork() returns a negative value, the

creation of a child process was unsuccessful.
 fork() returns a zero to the newly created
child process.
 fork() returns a positive value, the process
ID of the child process, to the parent.
 Process Creation
 There are two options for the parent process after
creating the child :
1. Wait for the child process to terminate before
proceeding.
 Parent process makes a wait() system call, for
either a specific child process or for any
particular child process, which causes the parent
process to block until the wait() returns.
 Process Creation
 There are two options for the parent process after
creating the child :

2. Run concurrently with the child, continuing to

process without waiting.
There are also two possibilities in terms of the
address space of the new process:
 The child process is a duplicate of the parent
process.
 The child process has a program loaded into it.
 Process Termination
 Process executes last statement and asks the operating
system to terminate it (by using exit() system call)
 Output the data from child to parent (via wait)
 Process resources are de-allocated by the operating
system
 Parent may terminate execution of children processes
(abort)
Why?
 Child has exceeded allocated resources
 Task assigned to a child is no longer required
 If a parent is exiting/Terminated
 Some operating system do not allow the child to
continue if its parent terminates
– All children terminated - cascading termination
 Process Termination
 Processes may also be terminated by the system for
a variety of reasons,
 The inability of the system to deliver the
necessary system resources.
 In response to a KILL command or other
unhandled process interrupts.
 A parent may kill its children if the task assigned
to them is no longer needed.
 If the parent does not exit, the system may or
may not allow the child to continue without a
parent (orphaned processes are generally
inherited by init, which then proceeds to kill
them.)
 Process Termination
 When a process ends, all of its system resources
are freed up. The process termination status and
execution times are returned to the parent if the
parent is waiting for the child to terminate,
or eventually returned to init if the process already
became an orphan.
 The processes which are trying to terminate but
cannot do so because their parent is not waiting for
them are termed zombies. These are eventually
inherited by init process as orphans and killed off.