Differentiate between a program and a process. In what way(s) does the OS manage a process?

A program and a process are two different concepts in the realm of computing, though they are closely related.

1. Program: A program is a set of instructions that are designed to perform a specific task. It is a static entity residing on the hard disk and does not perform any task on its own. It requires a user to execute it. Examples of programs include Microsoft Word, Google Chrome, or even the operating system itself.

2. Process: A process, on the other hand, is a dynamic entity. It is an instance of a program that is currently being executed by the system. A process includes the program code (which might be shared with other processes that are running the same program) and the current activity, which includes the values of its variables, its program counter, and its stack.

The operating system manages a process in several ways:

1. Process Scheduling: The OS decides the order in which processes are executed based on their priority and the scheduling algorithm being used.

2. Process Creation and Deletion: The OS is responsible for creating processes when a program is run and deleting processes when they have finished executing.

3. Process Synchronization: The OS ensures that processes that are dependent on each other execute in the correct order.

4. Process Communication: The OS provides mechanisms for processes to communicate with each other, for example through pipes or message passing.

5. Memory Management: The OS manages the memory that is used by processes, allocating and deallocating memory as necessary.

6. Resource Management: The OS manages the resources that a process needs to execute, such as CPU time, I/O devices, and files.