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Operating Systems - Processes

The document discusses processes and process management in operating systems. It defines processes, describes process structures like the process control block (PCB) and process states. It also covers context switching between processes, process scheduling and queues, and how processes are created through forking and executing new programs.

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Shraddha Patel
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47 views25 pages

Operating Systems - Processes

The document discusses processes and process management in operating systems. It defines processes, describes process structures like the process control block (PCB) and process states. It also covers context switching between processes, process scheduling and queues, and how processes are created through forking and executing new programs.

Uploaded by

Shraddha Patel
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Operating Systems –

Processes

ECE 344

ECE 344 Operating Systems


The Process Concept

• An OS executes a variety of programs


– In batch systems, referred to as jobs
– In time shared systems, referred to as user
programs or tasks
• So far pretty informally referred to as
programs in execution, processes, jobs, tasks
…
• From now on we’ll try to use the term
process synonymously with the above terms
and really mean …
ECE 344 Operating Systems
Definitions of Processes

Exact definitions in textbooks differ:


• Program in execution
• An instance of a program running on a computer
• A unit of execution characterized by
– A single, sequential thread of execution
– A current state
– An associated set of system resources (memory,
devices, files)
• A unit of resource ownership
• …

ECE 344 Operating Systems


The OS has to …

• Load executable from hard disk to main


memory
• Keep track of the states of each process
currently executed
• Make sure
– No process monopolizes the CPU
– No process starves to death
– Interactive processes are responsive
– Processes are shielded from one another

ECE 344 Operating Systems


Process Structure
A process consists of
1. An executable (i.e., code) stack
2. Associated data needed by dynamic data
the program (global data,
dynamic data, shared data)
3. Execution context (or state)
of the program, e.g.,
- Contents of data data
registers
- Program counter, stack
pointer code
- Memory allocation
- Open file (pointers)ECE 344 Operating Systems
Processes

• 16 users may all be running an application


(e.g., emacs), while there is only one image of
“emacs” loaded in the system
• This image (i.e., binary) is shared among the
different processes running on behalf of the
16 users
• I.e., code (and data) can be shared among
processes
• Shared libraries, shared objects, .so, DDLs!
ECE 344 Operating Systems
Process Control Block (PCB)

• Process state
• Program counter
• CPU registers
• CPU scheduling information (e.g., priority,
scheduling queue information)
• Memory management information (e.g., base
and limit registers)
• Accounting information (e.g., time)
• I/O status information

ECE 344 Operating Systems


PCB

pointer process state


(to next PCB)

process ID

registers

memory limits (e.g., base and limit)

lists of open files


…
ECE 344 Operating Systems
Process Organization in OS161
thread.h

Anything missing? This is our notion of a process.

struct thread {
struct pcb t_pcb;
char *t_name;
const void *t_sleepaddr;
char *t_stack;
struct addrspace *t_vmspace;
struct vnode *t_cwd;
};
ECE 344 Operating Systems
$ more arch/mips/include/pcb.h
/*
* Process Control Block: machine-dependent part of thread
*/
struct pcb {
// stack saved during context switch
u_int32_t pcb_switchstack;
// stack to load on entry to kernel
u_int32_t pcb_kstack;
// are we in an interrupt handler?
u_int32_t pcb_ininterrupt
// recovery for fatal kernel traps
pcb_faultfunc pcb_badfaultfunc;
// jump area used by copyin/out etc.
jmp_buf pcb_copyjmp; };
ECE 344 Operating Systems
Process Organization in BSD

ECE 344 Operating Systems


Process State

As a process executes it changes state.


• New: the process is being created.
• Running: instructions are being executed.
• Waiting: the process is waiting for some
event to happen.
• Ready: the process is waiting to be assigned
to a processor.
• Terminated: the process has finished
executing.
ECE 344 Operating Systems
Diagram of Process States

ECE 344 Operating Systems


Process Scheduling Queues

• Job queue: Set of all processes in the


system.
• Ready queue: Set of all processes residing in
main memory; ready and waiting to execute.
• Device queues: Set of processes waiting for
an I/O device.
Processes migrate between the various queues

ECE 344 Operating Systems


Example: Ready and Various Device I/O Queues

ECE 344 Operating Systems


Process Scheduling

ECE 344 Operating Systems


OS161 kern/thread/thread.c

/* States a thread can be in. */


typedef enum {
S_RUN,
S_READY,
S_SLEEP,
S_ZOMB,
} threadstate_t;

ECE 344 Operating Systems


Context Switch

• CPU switching from one process to another


process is called a context switch.
• Execution state of running process has to be
saved and execution state of next process has
to be loaded (context is switched.).
• Time to save old and load new processes’
execution state is called context-switch time.
• This time is overhead; The system does no
useful work while switching. Needs to me small.
• Time depends on hardware support.

ECE 344 Operating Systems


Context Switch Illustrated

ECE 344 Operating Systems


Process Creation
• Parent processes create child processes, which
in turn create other child processes forming a
tree of processes
• Resource sharing (all, some, or nothing)
• Execution
– Parent and child execute concurrently
– Parent waits for child to terminate
– Parent terminates prior to child process, which
continues to execute
• The init process inherits processes whose
parents have terminated (Unix)
ECE 344 Operating Systems
Process Tree on a Unix System

ECE 344 Operating Systems


More on Process Creation

• Address space
– Child is duplicate of parent process
– Child has a program loaded into it’s address
space
• Unix examples
– Fork system call creates a new process
– Exec system call used after a fork to replace
the process’s address space with a new
program
• Let’s look at that ECE
in 344
action …
Operating Systems
#include <stdion.h>
void main(int argc, char* argv[]){
int pid;
pid = fork()
if (pid < 0){ /* error occurred */
fprintf(stderr, “Fork Failed”);
exit(-1);
}
else if (pid == 0) { /* child process */
execlp (“/bin/ls”, “ls”, NULL);
else { /* parent process */
/* parent will wait for child to complete */
wait(NULL);
printf(“Child completed”);
exit(0);
}
} ECE 344 Operating Systems
integer variable process

pid=fork() parent
time

child’s PID

child parent
pid=0 pid=234562

newly created

ECE 344 Operating Systems


Summary

• Processes and their characterization


• Process control block
• PCB management, process states and state
transitions
• Context switch
• Process creation

ECE 344 Operating Systems

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