OPERATING SYSTEM KCS-401.

QUESTION BANK à UNIT-II : CONCURRENT PROCESSES

2018-19
1. What is a Critical Section problem? Give the conditions that a solution to the critical
section problem must satisfy.
2. Explain what semaphores are, their usage, implementation given to avoid busy waiting
and binary semaphores.
3. What is Producer Consumer problem? How it can illustrate the classical problem of
synchronization? Explain.

2017-18
1. What is the use of inter process communication and context switching?
2. Define Busy Waiting? How to overcome busy waiting using Semaphore operations.
3. What is Dining Philosophers problem? Discuss the solution to Dining philosopher’s
problem using monitors.
4. Discuss Mutual-exclusion implementation with test and set() instruction.
5. State the Critical Section problem. Illustrate the software based solution to the Critical
Section problem.

2016-17
1. What is Critical Section?
2. Explain threads.
3. Give the principles, mutual exclusion in critical section problem. Also discuss how well
these principles are followed in Dekker’s solution.
4. State the Producer-consumer problem. Given a solution to the solution using
semaphores.

2015-16
1. Define Multithreading.
2. Differentiate between concurrent execution and parallel execution.
3. What do you understand by critical section?
4. Give the solution to Readers-writers problem using semaphores.

2014-15
1. Explain the principle of concurrency.
2. What do you understand by critical section? Discuss Bakery algorithm. Also, how it
satisfies the requirements of a mechanism to control access to critical section.
3. Explain the terms briefly: (i) Dekker’s solution. (ii) Busy waiting
4. The analogy is based upon a hypothetical barber shop with one barber. There is a barber
shop which has one barber, one barber chair, and n chairs for waiting for customers if
there are any to sit on the chair.
i. If there is no customer, then the barber sleeps in his own chair.
ii. When a customer arrives, he has to wake up the barber.
iii. If there are many customers and the barber is cutting a customer’s hair,
then the remaining customers either wait if there are empty chairs in the
waiting room.
iv. If there are no empty chairs in the waiting room, they leave.
Write an algorithm for the above synchronization problem using semaphores.

Dr. Ragini Karwayun KCS-401 Question Bank

 5. What is thread? How thread is different from a process? What resources are used when
a thread is created?

2013-14
1. State and describe the producer consumer problem with its suitable solution.
2. List the essential requirements of critical section problem.
3. Define message passing and shared memory inter process communication.
4. Differentiate between user thread and kernel thread. What is thread cancellation?
5. Define semaphore with suitable example.

2012-13
1. What do you understand by critical section?
2. What do you mean by Parallel(Multiprocessor) system? What are its main types?
3. What is bounded buffer problem? Discuss briefly with the help of producer and
consumer process.
4. What do you mean by concurrent processes? Discuss the inter process communication
in detail.
5. Write an algorithm to explain producer consumer problem using semaphores.
6. Give a solution to critical section problem. Explain its necessary conditions.

Dr. Ragini Karwayun KCS-401 Question Bank