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5.Operating System - Process



Process: A process is basically a program in execution. The execution of a process must progress in a sequential fashion. 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 that 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.

Program: 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.

Process Life Cycle (Start, Ready, Running, Waiting, Terminate/Exit):

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.

The architecture of a PCB is completely dependent on Operating System and may contain different information in different operating systems. The PCB is maintained for a process throughout its lifetime, and is deleted once the process terminates.

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