I'd like to know which is the difference between a task and a process in computer science. I'm studying a course on real-time systems and there are some definitions that I don't know.
Thank you in advance.
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1$\begingroup$ Welcome to CS@SE. Note that different definitions of the same term may be valid. Nobody seems to know what tag definitions is about, and I think this question is not about learning computer science disciplines and CS education, but how specific notions have to be understood: terminology. $\endgroup$– greybeardCommented Dec 17, 2019 at 16:56
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$\begingroup$ Hi @greybeard have I put only the tag terminology? $\endgroup$– Gennaro ArguzziCommented Dec 17, 2019 at 19:56
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$\begingroup$ (That would have been my choice. Because I'm not sure, I purposely did neither indicate I reviewed your question (so the attention of further reviewers of posts by new contributors be drawn to it), nor suggest this as an edit.) $\endgroup$– greybeardCommented Dec 17, 2019 at 21:16
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1 Answer
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The difference appears to be that "process" is a well-defined term with a specific meaning that is universally understood, whereas "task" is ambiguous and means different things to different people.
The following Stack Overflow questions on the same topic support this:
- https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3042717/what-is-the-difference-between-a-thread-process-task
- https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2560939/task-vs-process-is-there-really-any-difference
Microsoft Windows certainly conflates the two terms—the Task Manager is used to administer processes.
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$\begingroup$ Hello @AaronRotenberg, thank you very much for your explanation. $\endgroup$ Commented Dec 17, 2019 at 19:55