Explain the Process Control Block (PCB) in the operating system.
Explain the Process Control Block (PCB) in the operating system.
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27-Mar-2023
Updated on 27-Mar-2023
Krishnapriya Rajeev
28-Mar-2023A process control block (PCB) is a data structure to store information about a running process and is used by operating systems. A PCB contains information such as the process state, process ID, CPU usage, memory usage, program counter, and other information about the process.
The information in the PCB is used by the operating system to manage the process, schedule it for execution, and allocate system resources such as CPU time and memory. When a process is created, the operating system allocates a PCB to store its information, and this PCB is updated as the process runs.
The contents of a PCB may vary depending on the operating system, but typically includes the following information: