What is the difference between a process and a thread?

Operating System Questions



38 Short 62 Medium 50 Long Answer Questions Question Index

What is the difference between a process and a thread?

A process is an instance of a program that is being executed by the operating system. It has its own memory space, resources, and execution context. Processes are independent and isolated from each other, meaning they cannot directly access each other's memory.

On the other hand, a thread is a subset of a process. It is a lightweight unit of execution within a process. Threads share the same memory space and resources of the process they belong to. Multiple threads within a process can execute concurrently, allowing for parallelism and improved performance.

In summary, the main difference between a process and a thread is that a process is a complete instance of a program, while a thread is a smaller unit of execution within a process. Processes are independent and isolated, while threads share the same resources and memory space.