What is Context Switching

Question

What is Context Switching?

Answer 1

Context switch:

It is the mechanism for moving the CPU by one executing process to the other.

• Obviously, the context switch should be bug-free-a process which does not look at a real-time clock must not be capable to tell that this was stopped and after that restarted.

• Cooperative multitasking: It is the most general form of pre-emptive multitasking and context switching.

• Preemptive Multitasking: It is the interrupt is an ideal mechanism on that to build context switching for certain preemptive multitasking.

• A timer produces periodic interrupts to the CPU.

• For the timer calls the operating system, use the interrupt handler, that saves the previous process’s state within an activation record, chooses the next process to perform and switches the context to such process.

• Processes and Object-Oriented Design-UML frequently refers to processes like active objects, which is, objects which have independent threads of control.

• We can implement the pre-emptive context switches by using the same fundamental techniques.

• The only dissimilarity between the two is the triggering event, voluntary release of the CPU during the case of cooperative and timer interrupt during the case of pre-emptive.