Linux Kernel Development, Second Edition

Chapter 4. Process Scheduling

The previous chapter discussed processes, the operating system abstraction of active program code. This chapter discusses the process scheduler, the chunk of code that puts those processes to work.

The process scheduler is the component of the kernel that selects which process to run next. The process scheduler (or simply the scheduler, to which it is often shortened) can be viewed as the subsystem of the kernel that divides the finite resource of processor time between the runnable processes on a system. The scheduler is the basis of a multitasking operating system such as Linux. By deciding what process can run, the scheduler is responsible for best utilizing the system and giving the impression that multiple processes ...