Lecture 03: Process Concepts and Process Control Block

1. What is a Process? (Defining the Core Unit)
2. Process States & Transitions (The Lifecycle of Execution)
3. The Process Control Block (PCB) (The OS’s Ledger)
4. Context Switching & Queues (Enabling Multitasking)
5. Real-world Observations & Conclusion

Slide Deck

Key Takeaways

• A process is the fundamental unit of execution in an OS, representing a program with its state and resources.
• The Process Control Block (PCB) is the OS’s vital data structure, holding all metadata required for process management.
• Processes cycle through distinct states (New, Ready, Running, Waiting, Terminated), driven by events and the OS scheduler.
• Context switching is the mechanism that enables multitasking, allowing the CPU to rapidly switch between processes, despite its inherent overhead.
• The OS uses various queues (Job, Ready, Device) to organize and manage processes for efficient scheduling and resource allocation.