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/Problem #2: Switching Between Processes
Problem #2: Switching Between Processes
In this lesson, let's discuss how the OS regains CPU control through different approaches when other processes are running and how context switching takes place!
We'll cover the following...
The next problem with direct execution is achieving a switch between processes. Switching between processes should be simple, right? The OS should just decide to stop one process and start another. What’s the big deal? But it actually is a little bit tricky: specifically, if a process is running on the CPU, this by definition means the OS is not running. If the OS is not running, how can it do anything at all? (hint: it can’t) While this sounds almost philosophical, it is a real problem: there is clearly no way for the OS to take an action if it is not running on the CPU. Thus we arrive at the crux of the problem.
THE CRUX: HOW TO REGAIN ...