context switch
<operating system> When a multitasking operating system stops running one
process and starts running another. Many operating systems implement concurrency
by maintaining separate environments or "contexts" for each process. The amount
of separation between processes, and the amount of information in a context,
depends on the operating system but generally the OS should prevent processes
interfering with each other, e.g. by modifying each other's memory.
A context switch can be as simple as changing the value of the program counter
and stack pointer or it might involve resetting the MMU to make a different set
of memory pages available.
In order to present the user with an impression of parallism, and to allow
processes to respond quickly to external events, many systems will context
switch tens or hundreds of times per second.
(1996-12-18)
Nearby terms:
context clash « context-free « context-sensitive
menu «
context switch » Contextually Communicating
Sequential Processes » continental drift »
continuation
|
