Multitasking

What is a Context Switch?

A context switch is the process of saving the CPU state of a currently running task and loading the saved state of another task, so a single CPU core can appea…

What are the Different Process States in an OS?

A process moves through a small set of states — new, ready, running, waiting (blocked), and terminated — and the OS scheduler transitions it between them based…

Cooperative vs Preemptive Multitasking

Cooperative multitasking relies on each running task voluntarily yielding the CPU back to the scheduler, while preemptive multitasking lets the OS forcibly int…

What Are the Process Scheduling Queues in an OS?

An operating system tracks processes through several distinct scheduling queues — the job queue, the ready queue, and one or more device (I/O) queues — and a p…