Processes and Threads

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Processes

Processes are running programs, including code, data, heap, and stack. In most implementations (but not always), each process has its own virtual address space (i.e. its own logical address-to-physical memory mapping) and its own set of system resources (files, environment variable, etc.)

Threads

A thread is a control flow in an executable image. Threads can be "user level" (i.e., the process handles multiple threads within itself) or "kernel level" (i.e., the OS scheduler handles multiple threads within a single process). Two threads from the same process naturally share the same code and global data but are given different stacks so that they do not interfere with each other's local variable and may have their own call chain.

Task Models

• Monotasking Systems
• Multitasking Systems
• Real-Time Systems
• Continuation Systems

Scheduling

• Context Switching
• Scheduling Algorithms
• Multiprocessor Scheduling
• Blocking Processes

See Also

• IPC
• Synchronization