operating-systems scheduling

Definition

First Come First Served (FCFS)

First Come First Served (FCFS) selects the process that has been in the Ready Queue the longest. It is the simplest scheduling strategy.

Properties

Selection

Process with the longest wait time in the Ready Queue is chosen.

Non-Preemptive

Once running, a process continues until it terminates or blocks for I/O.

Bias

Favours long, CPU-intensive processes over short or I/O-intensive ones.

Convoy Effect

Poor resource utilisation: I/O devices sit idle while processes wait for a long CPU burst.

Usage

Modern Systems

Rarely used standalone in modern systems but often serves as the underlying mechanism for specific priority levels in more complex schedulers.