Scribd
Upload
2 views30 pages

Lecture 2 Concurrency

The document discusses concurrency in operating systems, highlighting its benefits such as improved resource utilization and performance, as well as drawbacks like the need for application protection and coordination. It explains key concepts like threads, processes, and address spaces, emphasizing the differences between programs and processes. Additionally, it outlines various definitions and classifications of operating systems, along with the mechanics of thread dispatching and state management.

Uploaded by

Nida -E-Rub
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
2 views30 pages

Lecture 2 Concurrency

The document discusses concurrency in operating systems, highlighting its benefits such as improved resource utilization and performance, as well as drawbacks like the need for application protection and coordination. It explains key concepts like threads, processes, and address spaces, emphasizing the differences between programs and processes. Additionally, it outlines various definitions and classifications of operating systems, along with the mechanics of thread dispatching and state management.

Uploaded by

Nida -E-Rub
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 30

Concurrency: Threads, Address

Spaces, and Processes

Mark Stanovich
Operating Systems
COP 4610
Why Concurrency?
 Allows multiple applications to run at
the same time
 Analogy: juggling
Benefits of Concurrency
Benefits of Concurrency
 Ability to run multiple applications at
the same time
 Better resource utilization
 Resources unused by one application
can be used by the others
 Better average response time
 No need to wait for other applications to
complete
Benefits of Concurrency
 Better performance
 One application uses only the processor
 One application uses only the disk drive
 Completion time is shorter when running
both concurrently than consecutively
Drawbacks of Concurrency
Drawbacks of Concurrency
 Applications need to be protected from
one another
 Additional coordination mechanisms
among applications
 Overhead to switch among
applications
 Potential performance degradation
when running too many applications
Thread
 A sequential execution stream
 The smallest CPU scheduling unit
 Can be programmed as if it owns the
entire CPU
 Implication: an infinite loop within a thread
won’t halt the system
 Illusion of multiple CPUs on a single
machine
Thread States
 Program counter
 Register values
 Execution stacks
Thread Benefits
 Simplified programming model per
thread
 Example: Microsoft Word
 One thread for grammar check; one
thread for spelling check; one thread for
formatting; and so on…
 Can be programmed independently
 Simplifies the development of large
applications
Address Space
 Contains all states necessary to run a
program
 Code, data, stack(s)
 Program counter(s)
 Register values
 Resources required by the program
 Status of the running program
Process
 An address space + at least one
thread of execution
 Address space offers protection among
processes
 Threads offer concurrency
 A fundamental unit of computation
Process =? Program
 Program: a collection of statements in
C or any programming languages
 Process: a running instance of the
program, with additional states and
system resources
Process >? Program
 Two processes can run the same
program
 The code segment of two processes are
the same program
Program >? Process
 A program can create multiple
processes
 Example: gcc, netscape
Analogy
 Program: a recipe
 Process: everything needed to cook
 e.g., kitchen
 Two chefs can cook the same recipe in
different kitchens
 One complex recipe can involve
several chefs
Some Definitions
 Uniprogramming: running one
process at a time

 Multiprogramming: running multiple


processes on a machine
Some Definitions
 Multithreading: having multiple
threads per address space

 Multiprocessing: running programs


on a machine with multiple processors
 Multitasking: a single user can run
multiple processes
Classifications of OSes

Single address Multiple


space address
spaces

Single thread MS DOS, Traditional


Macintosh UNIX

Multiple Embedded Windows NT,


threads systems Solaris, OS/2
Threads & Dispatching Loop
 A thread owns a thread control block
 Execution states of the thread
 The status of the thread
 Running or sleeping
 Scheduling information of the thread
 e.g., priority
Dispatching Loop
 Threads are run from a dispatching
loop
 LOOP
Jump to the first instruction
 Run thread
 Save states
Context Scheduling
switch
 Choose a new thread to run
 Load states from a different thread
Simple? Not quite…
 How does the dispatcher regain
control after a thread starts running?
 What states should a thread save?
 How does the dispatcher choose the
next thread?
How does the dispatcher
regain control?
 Two ways:
1. Internal events (“Sleeping Beauty”)
 A thread is waiting for I/O
 A thread is waiting for some other thread
 Yield—a thread gives up CPU voluntarily
2. External events
 Interrupts—a complete disk request
 Timer—it’s like an alarm clock
What states should a thread
save?
 Anything that the next thread may
trash before a context switch
 Program counter
 Registers
 Changes in execution stack
How does the dispatcher
choose the next thread?
 The dispatcher keeps a list of threads
that are ready to run
 If no threads are ready
 Dispatcher just loops
 If one thread is ready
 Easy
How does the dispatcher
choose the next thread?
 If more than one thread are ready
 We choose the next thread based on the
scheduling policies
 Examples
 FIFO (first in, first out)
 LIFO (last in, first out)
 Priority-based policies
How does the dispatcher
choose the next thread?
 Additional control by the dispatcher on
how to share the CPU
 Examples:
Run to completion
A B C Time

Timeshare the CPU


A B C A B C A C A C Time
Per-thread States
 Each thread can be in one of the
three states
1. Running: has the CPU
2. Blocked: waiting for I/O or another
thread
3. Ready to run: on the ready list, waiting
for the CPU
Per-thread State Diagram

Running

Scheduled I/O request


Yield, timer

Ready Blocked
I/O complete
Program and Process
text

data
Source Code
int main()
heap
{
…
}

free space

stack

You might also like