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Unit 3 Process and Thread Kernel Data Structure

Threads are sequences of execution within a process that allow a process to split its workload across multiple simultaneously executing threads. Each thread has its own program counter, stack, and control blocks but threads within a process can share common data. There are two types of threads - kernel threads that the operating system schedules and manages, and user-level threads that are scheduled by user-level libraries instead of the kernel. Kernel threads provide better coordination with the operating system while user-level threads have lower overhead. Threads provide benefits like increased system throughput, better utilization of multiprocessor systems, and faster context switching compared to processes.

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988 views

Unit 3 Process and Thread Kernel Data Structure

Threads are sequences of execution within a process that allow a process to split its workload across multiple simultaneously executing threads. Each thread has its own program counter, stack, and control blocks but threads within a process can share common data. There are two types of threads - kernel threads that the operating system schedules and manages, and user-level threads that are scheduled by user-level libraries instead of the kernel. Kernel threads provide better coordination with the operating system while user-level threads have lower overhead. Threads provide benefits like increased system throughput, better utilization of multiprocessor systems, and faster context switching compared to processes.

Uploaded by

Rishabh Malik
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Unit 3

Process & Thread Kernel Data Structure


Threads in Operating System
A thread is a single sequential flow of execution of tasks of a process so it is also known as thread of execution or thread of control.
There is a way of thread execution inside the process of any operating system. Apart from this, there can be more than one thread
inside a process. Each thread of the same process makes use of a separate program counter and a stack of activation records and
control blocks. Thread is often referred to as a lightweight process.

The process can be split down into so many threads. For example, in a browser, many tabs can be viewed as threads. MS Word uses
many threads - formatting text from one thread, processing input from another thread, etc.

Need of Thread:
o It takes far less time to create a new thread in an existing process than to create a new process.
o Threads can share the common data, they do not need to use Inter- Process communication.
o Context switching is faster when working with threads.
o It takes less time to terminate a thread than a process.

Types of Threads
In the operating system, there are two types of threads. 1. Kernel level thread. 2. User-level thread.
User-level thread
The operating system does not recognize the user-level thread. User threads can be easily implemented and it is implemented by the
user. If a user performs a user-level thread blocking operation, the whole process is blocked. The kernel level thread does not know
nothing about the user level thread. The kernel-level thread manages user-level threads as if they are single-threaded
processes?examples: Java thread, POSIX threads, etc.
Advantages of User-level threads
1. The user threads can be easily implemented than the kernel thread.
2. User-level threads can be applied to such types of operating systems that do not support threads at the kernel-level.
3. It is faster and efficient.
4. Context switch time is shorter than the kernel-level threads.
5. It does not require modifications of the operating system.
6. User-level threads representation is very simple. The register, PC, stack, and mini thread control blocks are stored in the
address space of the user-level process.
7. It is simple to create, switch, and synchronize threads without the intervention of the process.
Disadvantages of User-level threads
1. User-level threads lack coordination between the thread and the kernel.
2. If a thread causes a page fault, the entire process is blocked.

Kernel level thread


The kernel thread recognizes the operating system. There is a thread control block and process control block in the system for each
thread and process in the kernel-level thread. The kernel-level thread is implemented by the operating system. The kernel knows about
all the threads and manages them. The kernel-level thread offers a system call to create and manage the threads from user-space. The
implementation of kernel threads is more difficult than the user thread. Context switch time is longer in the kernel thread. If a kernel
thread performs a blocking operation, the Banky thread execution can continue. Example: Window Solaris.
Advantages of Kernel-level threads

 The kernel-level thread is fully aware of all threads.


 The scheduler may decide to spend more CPU time in the process of threads being large numerical.
 The kernel-level thread is good for those applications that block the frequency.
Disadvantages of Kernel-level threads

 The kernel thread manages and schedules all threads.


 The implementation of kernel threads is difficult than the user thread.
 The kernel-level thread is slower than user-level threads.
Components of Threads
Any thread has the following components. 1. Program counter 2. Register set 3. Stack space
Benefits of Threads

 Enhanced throughput of the system: When the process is split into many threads, and each thread is treated as a job, the
number of jobs done in the unit time increases. That is why the throughput of the system also increases.
 Effective Utilization of Multiprocessor system: When you have more than one thread in one process, you can schedule more
than one thread in more than one processor.
 Faster context switch: The context switching period between threads is less than the process context switching. The process
context switch means more overhead for the CPU.
 Responsiveness: When the process is split into several threads, and when a thread completes its execution, that process can be
responded to as soon as possible.
 Communication: Multiple-thread communication is simple because the threads share the same address space, while in process,
we adopt just a few exclusive communication strategies for communication between two processes.
 Resource sharing: Resources can be shared between all threads within a process, such as code, data, and files. Note: The stack
and register cannot be shared between threads. There is a stack and register for each thread.

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