A process is an active program. It can also be said as a program that is under execution. It is more than the program code as it includes the program counter, process stack, registers, program code etc. Compared to this, the program code is only the text section.A process passes through different states as it executes. These states may be different in different operating systems. However, the common process states are explained below with the help of a diagram −NewThis is the state when the process has just been created. It is the initial state in the process life cycle.ReadyIn ... Read More

Wireless cellular technology or mobile communications started with first generation mobile phones, popularly known as 1G. It was an analog telecommunications system, introduced in 1979 and continued to mid of the 1980s. History 1G mobile communication system was introduced in Japan in 1979 by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT). Initially, it started in Tokyo and within next five years expanded to cover the whole of Japan. In 1981, Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT) was launched in European countries. In 1983, Ameritech launched 1G mobiles in the USA using Motorola mobile phones. Use of mobile communication system was then followed by several ... Read More

Mobile telephone service (MTS) connects mobile radio telephones with other networks like public switched telephone networks (PSTN), other mobile telephones and communication systems like Internet.Basic Mobile Communications SystemMobile phones and other mobile devices, called mobile stations are connected to base stations. Communication between the mobile stations and the base stations are done by wireless radio signals, which may be both data signals and voice signals. Each base station has a coverage area around it, such that mobile stations within this area can connect provided they have access permissions. Base stations contain transmitters and receivers to convert radio signals to electrical ... Read More

Message switching is a connectionless network switching technique where the entire message is routed from the source node to the destination node, one hop at a time. It was a precursor of packet switching.ProcessPacket switching treats each message as an individual unit. Before sending the message, the sender node adds the destination address to the message. It is then delivered entirely to the next intermediate switching node. The intermediate node stores the message in its entirety, checks for transmission errors, inspects the destination address and then delivers it to the next node. The process continues till the message reaches the ... Read More

Packet switching is a connectionless network switching technique. Here, the message is divided and grouped into a number of units called packets that are individually routed from the source to the destination. There is no need to establish a dedicated circuit for communication. Process Each packet in a packet switching technique has two parts: a header and a payload. The header contains the addressing information of the packet and is used by the intermediate routers to direct it towards its destination. The payload carries the actual data. A packet is transmitted as soon as it is available in a node, ... Read More

Circuit switching is a connection-oriented network switching technique. Here, a dedicated route is established between the source and the destination and the entire message is transferred through it.Phases of Circuit Switch ConnectionCircuit Establishment : In this phase, a dedicated circuit is established from the source to the destination through a number of intermediate switching centres. The sender and receiver transmits communication signals to request and acknowledge establishment of circuits.Data Transfer : Once the circuit has been established, data and voice are transferred from the source to the destination. The dedicated connection remains as long as the end parties communicate.Circuit Disconnection ... Read More

Definition Network switching is the process of transmitting data packets from the source to the destination through a number of intermediate network nodes. Here, each node controls or switches data packets to the next node towards the destination. When data comes on a node it is called ingress, and when data goes out of a node it is called egress. Switching Methods The two broad level switching methods are connection oriented switching and connectionless switching. Connection – oriented Switching : In connection – oriented switching, a dedicated path is established between the source and the destination before data switching. ... Read More

Interprocess communication is the mechanism provided by the operating system that allows processes to communicate with each other. This communication could involve a process letting another process know that some event has occurred or the transferring of data from one process to another.A diagram that illustrates interprocess communication is as follows −Synchronization in Interprocess CommunicationSynchronization is a necessary part of interprocess communication. It is either provided by the interprocess control mechanism or handled by the communicating processes. Some of the methods to provide synchronization are as follows −SemaphoreA semaphore is a variable that controls the access to a common resource ... Read More

A zombie process is a process whose execution is completed but it still has an entry in the process table. Zombie processes usually occur for child processes, as the parent process still needs to read its child’s exit status. Once this is done using the wait system call, the zombie process is eliminated from the process table. This is known as reaping the zombie process.A diagram that demonstrates the creation and termination of a zombie process is given as follows −Salient points of Zombie ProcessesSome of the salient points related to zombie processes are as follows −All the memory and ... Read More

Process Control Block is a data structure that contains information of the process related to it. The process control block is also known as a task control block, entry of the process table, etc.It is very important for process management as the data structuring for processes is done in terms of the PCB. It also defines the current state of the operating system.Structure of the Process Control BlockThe process control stores many data items that are needed for efficient process management. Some of these data items are explained with the help of the given diagram −The following are the data ... Read More