Thread switching latency
Encyclopedia
The thread switching latency is the time needed by the operating system
to switch the CPU
to another thread
. In some operating systems running on some hardware, switching between threads belonging to the same process
is much faster than switching to a thread from different process (because it requires more complicated process context switch
).
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
to switch the CPU
Central processing unit
The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
to another thread
Thread (computer science)
In computer science, a thread of execution is the smallest unit of processing that can be scheduled by an operating system. The implementation of threads and processes differs from one operating system to another, but in most cases, a thread is contained inside a process...
. In some operating systems running on some hardware, switching between threads belonging to the same process
Process (computing)
In computing, a process is an instance of a computer program that is being executed. It contains the program code and its current activity. Depending on the operating system , a process may be made up of multiple threads of execution that execute instructions concurrently.A computer program is a...
is much faster than switching to a thread from different process (because it requires more complicated process context switch
Context switch
A context switch is the computing process of storing and restoring the state of a CPU so that execution can be resumed from the same point at a later time. This enables multiple processes to share a single CPU. The context switch is an essential feature of a multitasking operating system...
).
See also
- Latency (engineering)Latency (engineering)Latency is a measure of time delay experienced in a system, the precise definition of which depends on the system and the time being measured. Latencies may have different meaning in different contexts.-Packet-switched networks:...
- Process switching latencyProcess switching latencyThe process switching latency of an operating system is the time that it needs to perform the process context switch to continue executing another process....