In this post, we will understand the difference between internal and external fragmentation −Internal FragmentationThe difference between the memory allocated and the space required is known as internal fragmentation.In this fragmentation, fixed-sized memory blocks are used to process data.This process occurs when a method or process is larger than the required memory.The method used in internal fragmentation is ‘best-fit’ block.It occurs when the memory is divided into fixed sized partitions.External FragmentationThe unused spaces that is formed between fragments of non-contiguous memory, which are too small to help with a new process, is known as external fragmentation.It uses variable-sized memory blocks ... Read More

In this post, we will understand the difference between contiguous and non-contiguous memory allocation −Contiguous Memory AllocationIn this allocation type, the consecutive blocks of memory is allocated to a file/process.It executes quickly in comparison to non-contiguous memory.It is easy to be controlled by the operating system.Minimum overhead since there are not many address translation when a process is being executed.There is internal fragmentation in contiguous memory allocation.There are different types of partitions: Single partition allocation and multi-partition allocation.Memory gets wasted.The swapped-in process is arranged in the originally allocated space itself.Non-contiguous Memory AllocationIn this type of allocation, separate blocks of memory ... Read More

Both paging and swapping are important concepts in operating systems that place a process in the main memory for its execution, but they are quite different from each other in many aspects. Read this article to learn more about paging and swapping and their specific characteristics. What is Paging? In OS, Paging is a memory management strategy in which the process address space is divided into blocks of the same size, called pages (where the size of each page is power of 2, and is between 512 bytes and 8192 bytes). The size of the process is then measured in ... Read More

Memory is a part of any computer system that is used to store data and instructions. Computer memory is broadly classified into three categories − Primary Memory, Secondary Memory, and Cache Memory. Primary memory is usually in the form of random access memory (RAM) and is used to store data that the CPU needs to access quickly. Secondary memory is usually in the form of hard drives, solid-state drives, or removable storage devices (such as USB drives) and is used to store data that the CPU does not need to access immediately. Read this tutorial to find out more about ... Read More

In this post, we will understand the difference between a linker and a loader −LinkerThe main function of the linker is to generate executable files.The linker takes the input as the object code which would be generated by a compiler/assembler.The process of linking can be understood as a method to combine different snippets of code in order to obtain executable code.There are two types of linkers available: Linkage Editor and Dynamic Linker.Linker also helps combine all the object modules.Linker is responsible to arrange the objects in the program’s address space.LoaderThe main function of a loader is to load executable files ... Read More

Both Demand Paging and Segmentation are memory management techniques used in operating systems. In Demand Paging, a page is loaded from the secondary memory into the primary memory, only when it is needed. On the other hand, Segmentation follows a strategy whereby the entire memory space is divided into discrete segments and each segment is allocated to a process. Read through this article to find out more about Demand Paging and Segmentation and how they are different from each other. What is Demand Paging? As the name suggests, Demand Paging swaps a page into the main memory only when ... Read More

Memory and Storage are two terms that are often used interchangeably, but they refer to different things. Memory is used to store data that is being actively used by the CPU, while Storage is used to store long-term data that needs to be accessed on a regular basis. Read this tutorial to learn more about Memory and Storage and how they are different from each other. What is Memory? Memory allows storing data on a short term basis. A memory normally is made up using registers. Each register has a location called memory location or storage location. Each memory location ... Read More

As processes are loaded and removed from memory, the free memory space is broken into little pieces. It may so happen after sometime that processes cannot be allocated to memory blocks considering their small size and memory blocks remain unused. This problem is known as Fragmentation. There are two types of fragmentation namely, Internal Fragmentation and External Fragmentation. Read this article to learn more about these two types of fragmentation and how they are different from each other. What is Internal Fragmentation? Internal fragmentation is defined as the difference between memory allocated and the memory space required by a process. ... Read More

Both RAM and HDD are types of computer memory. RAM is used to store computer programs and data that the CPU needs in real time. RAM data is volatile and is erased once the computer is switched off. HDD, hard disk, has permanent storage and it is used to store userspecific data and operating system files. HDD data is static and remains in the computer even if computer is switched off. Read this article to find out more about RAM and HDD and how they are different from each other. What is RAM? RAM stands for Random Access Memory. ... Read More