Operating Systems: Multitasking, Multithreading, and Multiprocessing

by Yuvi K - December 17, 2023

Operating Systems: An Intro

Operating systems are software responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the resources of a computer. It acts as a bridge between the user and the hardware, allowing the user to interact with the underlying machine. This software runs the computer hardware, providing basic services and resource management. Operating systems are key elements of modern computers — they provide a user-friendly interface to use their software and hardware components.

Multitasking

Multitasking (बहुकार्यकर्तात्वं) is the ability of a system to run multiple tasks (or processes) at the same time. It allows the user to execute multiple jobs in a single instance of time and consequently improve the overall system performance. Multitasking is an essential feature of any modern operating system as it allows the user to perform several tasks simultaneously without interfering with each other.

Multithreading

Multithreading (बहुधारा कार्य) is an extension of multitasking that enables a system to perform multiple tasks – usually within a single program – at the same time. A single task is a “thread”, which is a subset of the entire program. The operating system divides the job into multiple threads and assigns each thread to one processor, allowing the program to be executed simultaneously on multiple processors.

This allows for more efficient workload distribution, which can further improve system performance. Additionally, it enables the operating system to make use of more available hardware resources.

Multiprocessing)

Multiprocessing (बहुप्रक्रिया संचालन) is an extension of multitasking that allows a computer to execute multiple tasks simultaneously on two or more processors. It allows the system to assign each of the tasks to different processors, allowing them to be executed in parallel. This improves the performance of the overall system, as it enables more efficient use of its hardware resources.

In a multiprocessing environment, tasks are divided into segments that can be executed simultaneously on different processors. This enables the system to run the tasks in much faster and more efficient manner. Additionally, this significantly improves the overall system performance.

Conclusion

Multitasking, multithreading, and multiprocessing are three important operating system features that allow for improved resource utilization and performance. Multitasking enables the system to execute multiple jobs in a single instance of time; multithreading allows for the execution of multiple threads (or tasks) within the same program; and multiprocessing enables the execution of tasks on multiple processors in parallel. These features are useful for improving the overall performance of a computer system by efficiently utilizing its resources.

Therefore, it is clear that multitasking, multithreading, and multiprocessing are essential features of a modern operating system. They enable the user to make full use of the system resources and improve system efficiency.