Understanding Deadlocks in Operating Systems

Deadlock

Processes are blocked, each holding a resource.

Mutual Exclusion

Only one process can use a resource at a time.

Hold and Wait

Process holding resources waits for additional resources.

No Preemption

Resources can only be released voluntarily by processes.

Circular Wait

Processes wait for resources in a circular chain.

Deadlock Prevention

Avoid deadlock by disallowing necessary conditions.

Deadlock Avoidance

Use algorithms to prevent entering unsafe states.

Banker's Algorithm

Ensures system remains in a safe state.

Resource-Allocation Graph

Visualizes resource allocation and detects deadlocks.

Process Termination

Abort processes to eliminate deadlock cycles.

Resource Preemption

Select victim process to reclaim resources.

Starvation Prevention

Avoid repeated selection of the same victim process.

Safe State

System can allocate resources without causing deadlock.

Unsafe State

System may enter deadlock if resources are allocated.

Resource Instances

Multiple copies of a resource type available.

Process Priority

Criteria for selecting processes for termination.

System Context

Deadlocks common in multitasking resource-sharing systems.