In operating systems, both deadlock and starvation are unwanted situations that take place when the processes that need a shared resource block each other's progress indefinitely. Both are unwanted situations; however, a deadlock is quite different than a starvation. In this article, we will discuss all the important differences between deadlock and starvation. What is Deadlock? A deadlock is a condition in operating systems in which no process proceeds for execution and waits for resources that have been acquired by some other processes. Thus, in the case of a deadlock condition, the process simply gets blocked. Deadlock is also known ... 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

A computing system which consists of more than two processors is known as a multiprocessor system. Multiprocessor systems are broadly classified into two categories− loosely coupled multiprocessor system and tightly coupled multiprocessor system. In a loosely coupled multiprocessor system, the degree of coupling between different processor is low; whereas a tightly coupled multiprocessor system has high degree of coupling between different processors of the system. Read this article to find more about loosely coupled and tightly coupled multiprocessor systems and how they are different from each other. What is a Loosely Coupled Multiprocessor System? A multiprocessor which has very ... 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

Both Register and Memory are types of storing elements used in computing and digital systems for the storage of data. Although both have similar functions, they are absolutely different from each other. In this article, we will cover all those differences, but before that let’s have a basic overview of registers and computer memory. What is a Register? A register is a most elementary data-storing device that is implemented onto the processor chip itself. It is a small, high−speed storage area within a computer's processor or central processing unit (CPU). The processor can directly access the data stored in registers. ... Read More

Both EPROM and EEPROM are the types of ROM or Read Only Memory, but they are different from each other in many aspects that we will discuss in this article. Let's start with some basics of EPROM and EEPROM so that it becomes easier to understand the differences between them. What is EPROM? EPROM stands for Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory. EPROM is a modern version PROM (or Programmable Read Only Memory). EPROM provides the facility of erasing data stored on it. It uses ultraviolet rays (UV rays) to erase the content stored it. EPROM is built up of ... Read More

In computer networks, links are the pointers associated with files and directories. These links are of two types: Hard Links and Soft Links. A hard link is a direct reference to a file, while a soft link is a reference by name. Thus, a soft link points to a file by its file name. Read this article to find out more about hard links and soft links and how they are different from each other. Let's start with a basic overview of hard links and soft links so that it becomes easier to differentiate them. What is a Hard Link? The ... Read More

In a computer system, memory devices are used to store data and information. Computer memories are mainly classified into three types – primary memory, secondary memory, and cache memory. The primary memory is further classified into two types namely – RAM and ROM, where RAM is further subdivided into two types, i.e., SRAM and DRAM. Read through this article to find out how an SRAM is different from a DRAM. What is RAM? RAM stands for Random Access Memory. It is the internal memory of the CPU for storing data, program, and program result. It is a read/write memory ... Read More

A program is a passive entity that has a set of codes and instructions required to accomplish a task. A process, on the other hand, is an active entity of a program that is started with the execution of the program. Thus, the process is started by the program, once it is executed. The instructions of the program are then executed by the process. Read through this article to find out more about programs and processes and how they are different from each other. What is a Program? A program is a set of instruction codes that has been designed ... Read More

In computers and other electronic devices, there is an internal storage device called ROM (Read Only Memory). It is a storage device used to store data and instructions permanently. Till date, there are several types of ROMs available such as PROM, EPROM, and EEPROM. There are several differences among all these types of ROMs depending on the manufacturing process, electronic components used, operation, reversibility, etc. In this article, we will discuss the important differences between PROM and EPROM by considering different parameters. But before that, it is important to get an overview of their basics so that it becomes easier ... Read More