Process Management

1. Process

A process is basically a program in execution. The execution of a process must progress in a

sequential fashion.A process is defined as an entity which represents the basic unit of work to be
implemented in the system.

To put it in simple terms, we write our computer programs in a text file and when we execute this
program, it becomes a process which performs all the tasks mentioned in the program.

When a program is loaded into the memory and it becomes a process, it can be divided into four
sections
— stack, heap, text and data. The following image shows a simplified layout of a process inside main
memory −

S. Component & Description

N.

1 Stack

The process Stack contains the temporary data such as method/function

parameters, return address and local variables.

2 Heap

This is dynamically allocated memory to a process during its run time.

3 Text

This includes the current activity represented by the value of Program Counter
and the contents of the processor's registers.
 4 Data

This section contains the global and static variables.

2. Program
A program is a piece of code which may be a single line or millions of lines. A computer program is
usually written by a computer programmer in a programming language. For example, here is a simple
program written in C programming language −

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {

printf("Hello, World! \n");

return 0;

A computer program is a collection of instructions that performs a specific task when executed by a
computer. When we compare a program with a process, we can conclude that a process is a dynamic
instance of a computer program.

A part of a computer program that performs a well-defined task is known as an algorithm. A

collection of computer programs, libraries and related data are referred to as a software.

3. Process Life Cycle

When a process executes, it passes through different states. These stages may differ in different
operating systems, and the names of these states are also not standardized.

In general, a process can have one of the following five states at a time.

S. State & Description

N.

1 Start

This is the initial state when a process is first started/created.

2 Ready

The process is waiting to be assigned to a processor. Ready processes are waiting

to have the processor allocated to them by the operating system so that they can
run. Process may come into this state after Start state or while running it by but
interrupted by the scheduler to assign CPU to some other process.
 3 Running

Once the process has been assigned to a processor by the OS scheduler, the
process state is set to running and the processor executes its instructions.

4 Waiting

Process moves into the waiting state if it needs to wait for a resource, such
as waiting for user input, or waiting for a file to become available.

5 Terminated or Exit

Once the process finishes its execution, or it is terminated by the operating

system, it is moved to the terminated state where it waits to be removed from
main memory.

4. Process Control Block (PCB)

A Process Control Block is a data structure maintained by the Operating System for every process.
The PCB is identified by an integer process ID (PID). A PCB keeps all the information needed to
keep track of a process as listed below in the table −

S. Information & Description

N.

1 Process State

The current state of the process i.e., whether it is ready, running, waiting, or
whatever.

2 Process privileges

This is required to allow/disallow access to system resources.

3 Process ID

Unique identification for each of the process in the operating system.

4 Pointer

A pointer to parent process.

5 Program Counter

Program Counter is a pointer to the address of the next instruction to be executed

for this process.

6 CPU registers

Various CPU registers where process need to be stored for execution for running
state.

7 CPU Scheduling Information

Process priority and other scheduling information which is required to

schedule the process.

8 Memory management information

This includes the information of page table, memory limits, Segment

table depending on memory used by the operating system.

9 Accounting information

This includes the amount of CPU used for process execution, time
limits, execution ID etc.

10 IO status information

This includes a list of I/O devices allocated to the process.

The architecture of a PCB is completely dependent on Operating System and may contain
different information in different operating systems. Here is a simplified diagram of a PCB −

The PCB is maintained for a process throughout its lifetime, and is deleted once the process
terminates.

5. Messaging Passing

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
strategy.

Process scheduling is an essential part of a Multiprogramming operating systems. Such operating

systems allow more than one process to be loaded into the executable memory at a time and the
loaded process shares the CPU using time multiplexing.

Process communication is the mechanism provided by the operating system that allows processes
to communicate with each other. This communication could involve a process letting another
process know that some event has occurred or transferring of data from one process to another.
One of the models of process communication is the message passing model.

Message passing model allows multiple processes to read and write data to the message queue
without being connected to each other. Messages are stored on the queue until their recipient
retrieves them. Message queues are quite useful for interprocess communication and are used by
most operating systems.

A diagram that demonstrates message passing model of process communication is given as

follows:

In the above diagram, both the processes P1 and P2 can access the message queue and store and
retrieve data.

5.1. Advantages of message passing

Some of the advantages of message passing model are given as follows:

1. The message passing model is much easier to implement than the shared memory model.
2. It is easier to build parallel hardware using message passing model as it is quite tolerant of
higher communication latencies.
5.2. Disadvantages of messaging passing model
The message passing model has slower communication than the shared memory model because
the connection setup takes time.

6. CPU Scheduling
CPU scheduling is a process which allows one process to use the CPU while the execution of
another process is on hold(in waiting state) due to unavailability of any resource like I/O etc,
thereby making full use of CPU. The aim of CPU scheduling is to make the system efficient, fast
and fair.
Whenever the CPU becomes idle, the operating system must select one of the processes in
the ready queue to be executed. The selection process is carried out by the short-term scheduler
(or CPU scheduler). The scheduler selects from among the processes in memory that are ready to
execute, and allocates the CPU to one of them.

6.1. CPU Scheduling: Dispatcher

Another component involved in the CPU scheduling function is the Dispatcher. The dispatcher is
the module that gives control of the CPU to the process selected by the short-term scheduler.
This function involves:

 Switching context
 Switching to user mode
 Jumping to the proper location in the user program to restart that program from where it left
last time.

The dispatcher should be as fast as possible, given that it is invoked during every process switch.
The time taken by the dispatcher to stop one process and start another process is known as the
Dispatch Latency. Dispatch Latency can be explained using the below figure:

6.2. Types of CPU Scheduling

CPU scheduling decisions may take place under the following four circumstances:

1. When a process switches from the running state to the waiting state (for I/O request or
invocation of wait for the termination of one of the child processes).
2. When a process switches from the running state to the ready state (for example, when an
 interrupt occurs).
3. When a process switches from the waiting state to the ready state (for example, completion of
I/O).
4. When a process terminates.
In circumstances 1 and 4, there is no choice in terms of scheduling. A new process (if one exists in
the ready queue) must be selected for execution. There is a choice, however in circumstances 2
and 3.
When Scheduling takes place only under circumstances 1 and 4, we say the scheduling scheme is
non-preemptive; otherwise the scheduling scheme is preemptive.

6.2.1. Non-Preemptive Scheduling

Under non-preemptive scheduling, once the CPU has been allocated to a process, the process
keeps the CPU until it releases the CPU either by terminating or by switching to the waiting state.
This scheduling method is used by the Microsoft Windows 3.1 and by the Apple Macintosh
operating systems.
It is the only method that can be used on certain hardware platforms, because It does not require
the special hardware(for example: a timer) needed for preemptive scheduling.

6.2.2. Preemptive Scheduling

In this type of Scheduling, the tasks are usually assigned with priorities. At times it is necessary to
run a certain task that has a higher priority before another task although it is running.
Therefore, the running task is interrupted for some time and resumed later when the priority task
has finished its execution.

7. CPU Scheduling: Scheduling Criteria

There are many different criterias to check when considering the "best" scheduling algorithm,
they are:
7.1. CPU Utilization
To make out the best use of CPU and not to waste any CPU cycle, CPU would be working most of
the time(Ideally 100% of the time). Considering a real system, CPU usage should range from 40%
(lightly loaded) to 90% (heavily loaded.)
7.2. Throughput
It is the total number of processes completed per unit time or rather say total amount of work done
in a unit of time. This may range from 10/second to 1/hour depending on the specific processes.
7.3. Turnaround Time
It is the amount of time taken to execute a particular process, i.e. The interval from time of
submission of the process to the time of completion of the process(Wall clock time).
7.4. Waiting Time
The sum of the periods spent waiting in the ready queue amount of time a process has been
waiting in the ready queue to acquire get control on the CPU.
7.5. Load Average
It is the average number of processes residing in the ready queue waiting for their turn to get into
the CPU.
7.6. Response Time
Amount of time it takes from when a request was submitted until the first response is produced.
Remember, it is the time till the first response and not the completion of process execution(final
response).
In general CPU utilization and Throughput are maximized and other factors are reduced for proper
optimization.

8. Process 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.

The Operating System maintains the following important 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.

The OS can use different policies to manage each queue (FIFO, Round Robin, Priority, etc.). The
OS scheduler determines how to move processes between the ready and run queues which can
only have one entry per processor core on the system; in the above diagram, it has been merged
with the CPU.

8.1. Two-State Process Model

Two-state process model refers to running and non-running states which are described below −

S. State & Description

N.
1 Running

When a new process is created, it enters into the system as in the running state.

2 Not Running

Processes that are not running are kept in queue, waiting for their turn to execute.
Each entry in the queue is a pointer to a particular process. Queue is implemented
by using linked list. Use of dispatcher is as follows. When a process is
interrupted, that process is transferred in the waiting queue. If the process has
completed or aborted, the process is discarded. In either case, the dispatcher then
selects a process from the queue to execute.

9. Schedulers
Schedulers are special system software which handle process scheduling in various ways. Their
main task is to select the jobs to be submitted into the system and to decide which process to run.
Schedulers are of three types −

 Long-Term Scheduler
 Short-Term Scheduler
 Medium-Term Scheduler
9.1. Long Term Scheduler
It is also called a job scheduler. A long-term scheduler determines which programs are admitted
to the system for processing. It selects processes from the queue and loads them into memory for
execution. Process loads into the memory for CPU scheduling.

The primary objective of the job scheduler is to provide a balanced mix of jobs, such as I/O
bound and processor bound. It also controls the degree of multiprogramming. If the degree of
multiprogramming is stable, then the average rate of process creation must be equal to the
average departure rate of processes leaving the system.

On some systems, the long-term scheduler may not be available or minimal. Time-sharing
operating systems have no long term scheduler. When a process changes the state from new to
ready, then there is use of long-term scheduler.

9.2. Short Term Scheduler

It is also called as CPU scheduler. Its main objective is to increase system performance in
accordance with the chosen set of criteria. It is the change of ready state to running state of the
process. CPU scheduler selects a process among the processes that are ready to execute and
allocates CPU to one of them.

Short-term schedulers, also known as dispatchers, make the decision of which process to execute
next. Short-term schedulers are faster than long-term schedulers.

9.3. Medium Term Scheduler

Medium-term scheduling is a part of swapping. It removes the processes from the memory. It
reduces the degree of multiprogramming. The medium-term scheduler is in-charge of handling
the swapped out-processes.

A running process may become suspended if it makes an I/O request. A suspended processes
cannot make any progress towards completion. In this condition, to remove the process from
memory and make space for other processes, the suspended process is moved to the secondary
storage. This process is called swapping, and the process is said to be swapped out or rolled out.
Swapping may be necessary to improve the process mix.

Comparison among Scheduler

S. Long-Term Scheduler Short-Term Medium-Term
N. Scheduler Scheduler

1 It is a job scheduler It is a CPU scheduler It is a process swapping

scheduler.

2 Speed is lesser than short Speed is fastest among Speed is in between both
term scheduler other two short and long term
scheduler.

3 It controls the degree of It provides lesser It reduces the degree of

multiprogramming control over degree of multiprogramming.
multiprogramming

4 It is almost absent or It is also minimal in It is a part of Time

minimal in time sharing time sharing system sharing systems.
system

5 It selects processes from It selects those It can re-introduce the

pool and loads them into processes which are process into memory and
memory for execution ready to execute execution can be
continued.

10. Context Switching

A context switch is the mechanism to store and restore the state or context of a CPU in Process
Control block so that a process execution can be resumed from the same point at a later time.
Using this technique, a context switcher enables multiple processes to share a single CPU.
Context switching is an essential part of a multitasking operating system features.

When the scheduler switches the CPU from executing one process to execute another, the state
from the current running process is stored into the process control block. After this, the state for
the process to run next is loaded from its own PCB and used to set the PC, registers, etc. At that
point, the second process can start executing.
Context switches are computationally intensive since register and memory state must be saved and
restored. To avoid the amount of context switching time, some hardware systems employ two or
more sets of processor registers. When the process is switched, the following information is stored
for later use.

 Program Counter
 Scheduling information
 Base and limit register value
 Currently used register
 Changed State
  I/O State information
 Accounting information

10. Interprocess Communication

Interprocess communication (IPC) is a set of programming interfaces that allow a programmer to
coordinate activities among different program processes that can run concurrently in an operating
system. This allows a program to handle many user requests at the same time. Since even a single
user request may result in multiple processes running in the operating system on the user's behalf, the
processes need to communicate with each other. The IPC interfaces make this possible. Each IPC
method has its own advantages and limitations so it is not unusual for a single program to use all of
the IPC methods.

11. Shared Memory System

Shared memory is a memory shared between two or more processes. However, why do we need to
share memory or some other means of communication?

To reiterate, each process has its own address space, if any process wants to communicate with some
information from its own address space to other processes, then it is only possible with IPC (inter
process communication) techniques. As we are already aware, communication can be between
related or unrelated processes.

Usually, inter-related process communication is performed using Pipes or Named Pipes. Unrelated
processes (say one process running in one terminal and another process in another terminal)
communication can be performed using Named Pipes or through popular IPC techniques of Shared
Memory and Message Queues.

We have seen the IPC techniques of Pipes and Named pipes and now it is time to know the
remaining IPC techniques viz., Shared Memory, Message Queues, Semaphores, Signals, and
Memory Mapping.

In this chapter, we will know all about shared memory.

We know that to communicate between two or more processes, we use shared memory but
before using the shared memory what needs to be done with the system calls, let us see this −

 Create the shared memory segment or use an already created shared memory segment
(shmget())

 Attach the process to the already created shared memory segment (shmat())

 Detach the process from the already attached shared memory segment (shmdt())

 Control operations on the shared memory segment (shmctl())

12. Scheduling Algorithm

A Process Scheduler schedules different processes to be assigned to the CPU based on particular
scheduling algorithms. There are six popular process scheduling algorithms which we are going to
discuss in this chapter −

 First-Come, First-Served (FCFS) Scheduling

 Shortest-Job-Next (SJN) Scheduling
 Priority Scheduling
 Shortest Remaining Time
 Round Robin(RR) Scheduling
 Multiple-Level Queues Scheduling
These algorithms are either non-preemptive or preemptive. Non-preemptive algorithms are
designed so that once a process enters the running state, it cannot be preempted until it completes its
allotted time, whereas the preemptive scheduling is based on priority where a scheduler may
preempt a low priority running process anytime when a high priority process enters into a ready
state.

12.1. First Come First Serve (FCFS)

 Jobs are executed on first come, first serve basis.

 It is a non-preemptive, pre-emptive scheduling algorithm.
 Easy to understand and implement.
 Its implementation is based on FIFO queue.
 Poor in performance as average wait time is high.
Wait time of each process is as follows −

Process Wait Time : Service Time - Arrival Time

P0 0-0=0

P1 5-1=4

P2 8-2=6

P3 16 - 3 = 13

Average Wait Time: (0+4+6+13) / 4 = 5.75

12.2. Shortest Job Next (SJN)

 This is also known as shortest job first, or SJF

 This is a non-preemptive, pre-emptive scheduling algorithm.

 Best approach to minimize waiting time.

 Easy to implement in Batch systems where required CPU time is known in advance.

 Impossible to implement in interactive systems where required CPU time is not known.

 The processer should know in advance how much time process will take.
Wait time of each process is as follows −

Process Wait Time : Service Time - Arrival Time

P0 3-0=3

P1 0-0=0

P2 16 - 2 = 14

P3 8-3=5

Average Wait Time: (3+0+14+5) / 4 = 5.50

12.3. Priority Based Scheduling

 Priority scheduling is a non-preemptive algorithm and one of the most common
scheduling algorithms in batch systems.

 Each process is assigned a priority. Process with highest priority is to be executed first and so
on.

 Processes with same priority are executed on first come first served basis.
  Priority can be decided based on memory requirements, time requirements or any other
resource requirement.

Wait time of each process is as follows −

Process Wait Time : Service Time - Arrival Time

P0 9-0=9

P1 6-1=5

P2 14 - 2 = 12

P3 0-0=0

Average Wait Time: (9+5+12+0) / 4 = 6.5

12.4. Shortest Remaining Time

 Shortest remaining time (SRT) is the preemptive version of the SJN algorithm.

 The processor is allocated to the job closest to completion but it can be preempted by a newer
ready job with shorter time to completion.

 Impossible to implement in interactive systems where required CPU time is not known.
  It is often used in batch environments where short jobs need to give preference.

12.5. Round Robin Scheduling

 Round Robin is the preemptive process scheduling algorithm.

 Each process is provided a fix time to execute, it is called a quantum.

 Once a process is executed for a given time period, it is preempted and other process
executes for a given time period.

 Context switching is used to save states of preempted processes.

Wait time of each process is as follows −

Process Wait Time : Service Time - Arrival Time

P0 (0 - 0) + (12 - 3) = 9

P1 (3 - 1) = 2

P2 (6 - 2) + (14 - 9) + (20 - 17) = 12

P3 (9 - 3) + (17 - 12) = 11

Average Wait Time: (9+2+12+11) / 4 = 8.5

12.6. Multiple-Level Queues Scheduling

Multiple-level queues are not an independent scheduling algorithm. They make use of other
existing algorithms to group and schedule jobs with common characteristics.
  Multiple queues are maintained for processes with common characteristics.
 Each queue can have its own scheduling algorithms.
 Priorities are assigned to each queue.
For example, CPU-bound jobs can be scheduled in one queue and all I/O-bound jobs in another
queue. The Process Scheduler then alternately selects jobs from each queue and assigns them to
the CPU based on the algorithm assigned to the queue.