Process States in Operating System || Transition Diagram and various Schedulers | Malayalam Tutorial

Introduction

This tutorial provides a comprehensive overview of process states in operating systems, including the different states a process can be in, the attributes associated with processes, and the role of various schedulers. Understanding these concepts is crucial for anyone studying operating systems or working in computer science.

Step 1: Understanding What a Process Is

• A process is an instance of a program in execution. It includes the program code and its current activity.
• Each process has its own memory space and system resources.
• Processes can be in various states during their lifecycle, impacting how they are managed by the operating system.

Step 2: Identifying Different States of a Process

A process can be in one of several states:

1. New: The process is being created.
2. Ready: The process is waiting to be assigned to a processor.
3. Running: The process is currently being executed by the CPU.
4. Waiting: The process is waiting for some event (like I/O operations) to occur.
5. Terminated: The process has finished execution.

Transition Diagram

• Visualize the states with a transition diagram that shows how a process moves from one state to another:
  • New to Ready
  • Ready to Running
  • Running to Waiting
  • Running to Terminated
  • Waiting to Ready

Step 3: Exploring Attributes of a Process

Each process has specific attributes that help the operating system manage it effectively. Key attributes include:

• Process ID: A unique identifier for each process.
• Process State: The current state of the process (New, Ready, Running, Waiting, Terminated).
• Program Counter: The address of the next instruction to be executed.
• CPU Registers: The register values at the time of execution.
• Memory Management Information: Information about the memory allocated to the process.
• I/O Status Information: Information about the I/O devices allocated to the process.

Step 4: Understanding Process Schedulers

Schedulers play a critical role in managing process execution. There are different types of schedulers:

1. Long-term Scheduler: Decides which processes are admitted to the system for processing.
2. Short-term Scheduler: Decides which process in the ready state should be executed next by the CPU.
3. Medium-term Scheduler: Manages the swapping of processes in and out of memory to optimize CPU utilization.

Practical Tips

• Familiarize yourself with the lifecycle of a process to better understand operating system functionality.
• Draw the transition diagram to visualize the process states.
• Study real-world applications of scheduling algorithms to see how they affect system performance.

Conclusion

In summary, understanding process states, attributes, and the role of schedulers is fundamental in operating systems. This knowledge not only helps in academic pursuits but also in practical applications in software development and system management. For further exploration, consider studying specific scheduling algorithms such as Round Robin, First-Come-First-Serve, or Shortest Job Next to see how they impact process execution.