Definition
Process Control Block
A process control block (PCB) is a data structure storing the execution state and management information of a process, enabling suspension and later resumption.
Contents
Identification
PID, parent PID, and user ID.
Processor State
Context for resuming execution: program counter, general-purpose registers, stack pointer, and PSW.
Scheduling Information
Current process state and priority.
I/O Status
Open file descriptors, assigned devices, and pending I/O requests.
Memory Management
Pointers to page tables or segment tables defining the address space.
Location
Home in Kernel Space
The PCB resides in kernel space. All PCBs are indexed by the process table.