Understanding the concept of a process

We must understand processes in operating systems as containers for programs in execution and their resources. All that is referring to a program in execution can be managed by means of the process it represents—its data area, its child processes, its estates, as well as its communication with other processes.

Understanding the process model

Processes have associated information and resources that allow their manipulation and control. The operating system has a structure called the Process Control Block (PCB), which stores information referring to processes. For instance, the PCB might store the following information:

• Process ID: This is the unique integer value (unsigned) and which identifies a process within the operational system

• Program counter: This contains the address of the next program instruction to be executed

• I/O information: This is a list of open files and devices associated with the process

• Memory allocation: This stores information about...