Lukas' Notes

Process Creation

1 min read

operating-systems

Definition

Process Creation

Process creation adds a new process to the system. The OS allocates a unique PID, initialises a PCB, and allocates necessary memory and resources.

Triggers

Creation Triggers

A process can be created when:

  • System Initialisation: Background processes (daemons) started at boot
  • User Login: Session process created via shell or GUI
  • User Command: Starting an application (text processor, browser)
  • Process Spawning: Existing process creates a sub-task, forming a process hierarchy

Steps

Creation Steps

  1. Assign PID: OS finds available slot in process table
  2. Allocate Space: Memory segments (Text, Data, Stack) allocated
  3. Initialise PCB: State set to “New” or “Ready”, registers initialised
  4. Linkage: Process linked to parent and admitted to ready queue

Graph View