Process-Based and Thread-Based Multitasking Last Updated : 09 Nov, 2022 Comments Improve Suggest changes Like Article Like Report Multitasking operating system is an operating system that gives you the perception of two or more tasks/jobs/processes running simultaneously. It does this by dividing system resources amongst these tasks/jobs/processes and switching between the tasks/jobs/processes while they are executing over and over again. The CPU processes only one task at a time, but in Multitasking the switching is so fast that it looks like the CPU is executing multiple processes simultaneously. They can support either preemptive multitasking, where the OS doles out time to applications (virtually all modern OSes) or cooperative multitasking, where the OS waits for the program to give back control (Windows 3.x, Mac OS 9 and earlier), leading to hangs and crashes. Also known as Timesharing, multitasking is a logical extension of multiprogramming. Prerequisite: Thread, Difference between multitasking, multithreading and multiprocessing Multitasking Programming has Two Types: Process-based MultitaskingThread-based MultitaskingProcess-Based Multitasking Thread-Based Multitasking In process-based multitasking, two or more processes and programs can be run concurrently.In thread-based multitasking, two or more threads can be run concurrently.In process-based multitasking, a process or a program is the smallest unit.In thread-based multitasking, a thread is the smallest unit.The program is a bigger unit.Thread is a smaller unit.Process-based multitasking requires more overhead.Thread-based multitasking requires less overhead.The process requires its own address space.Threads share the same address space.The process to Process communication is expensive.Thread to Thread communication is not expensive.Here, it is unable to gain access over the idle time of the CPU.It allows taking gain access over idle time taken by the CPU.It is a comparatively heavyweight.It is comparatively lightweight.It has a faster data rate for multi-tasking because two or more processes/programs can be run simultaneously.It has a comparatively slower data rate multi-tasking.Example: We can listen to music and browse the internet at the same time. The processes in this example are the music player and browser. Example: Using a browser we can navigate through the webpage and at the same time download a file. In this example, navigation is one thread, and downloading is another thread. Also in a word-processing application like MS Word, we can type text in one thread, and spell checker checks for mistakes in another thread. Comment More infoAdvertise with us Next Article Process-Based and Thread-Based Multitasking A Anshika Goyal Follow Improve Article Tags : Misc Technical Scripter Operating Systems Difference Between GATE CS +1 More Practice Tags : Misc Similar Reads Multi Threading Models in Process Management Multi threading- It is a process of multiple threads executes at same time. There are two main threading models in process management: user-level threads and kernel-level threads. User-level threads: In this model, the operating system does not directly support threads. Instead, threads are managed 6 min read Difference between Process and Thread Process and threads are the basic components in OS. Process is a program under execution whereas a thread is part of process. Threads allows a program to perform multiple tasks simultaneously, like downloading a file while you browse a website or running animations while processing user input. A pro 7 min read Difference between Multi-tasking and Multi-threading Multi-tasking is the ability of an operating system to run multiple processes or tasks concurrently, sharing the same processor and other resources. In multitasking, the operating system divides the CPU time between multiple tasks, allowing them to execute simultaneously. Each task is assigned a tim 6 min read Difference between Multiprocessing and Multithreading Multiprocessing uses multiple CPUs to run many processes at a time while multithreading creates multiple threads within a single process to get faster and more efficient task execution. Both Multiprocessing and Multithreading are used to increase the computing power of a system in different ways. In 3 min read Difference between Preemptive and Cooperative Multitasking Multitasking is one of the key features of present-day operating systems, by which many tasks or processes can be processed in parallel. It also improves throughput by controlling how activities can access the CPU. There are two main categories of multitasking: preemptive multitasking and cooperativ 5 min read Like