Computer Science Mock Interview
Master 25 Computer Science interview questions covering algorithms, data structures, and system design.
Question 25 of 25
What is a process and a thread, and how are they used in your profession?
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William Swansen has worked in the employment assistance realm since 2007. He is an author, job search strategist, and career advisor who helps individuals worldwide and in various professions to find their ideal careers.
This technical question asks you to define and compare two very similar terms. Knowing the answer to questions like this will demonstrate your qualifications as a computer scientist. It is highly recommended that you review the terms, technologies, concepts, and processes used in your job before attending an interview. Interviewers are likely to ask about all of these.
William Swansen has worked in the employment assistance realm since 2007. He is an author, job search strategist, and career advisor who helps individuals worldwide and in various professions to find their ideal careers.
"A process and a thread are very similar in concept. In the execution of a program, both define the sequences and code a program executes. The difference between a process and a thread is that a thread is a segment of a process. Processes can have several different threads which define how the program executes. Another difference is that processes will take longer to terminate than individual threads. Finally, threads can share memory while processes can't."
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Anonymous Answer
A thread is one part of a process and a process is a whole sequence of threads. I can come up with at least some threads and put them all together in a process.
Marcie's Feedback
Nice! It sounds like you understand the concepts. To further strengthen your answer, can you provide an example of a time when you used processes and threads?
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