Process Control Block

What this operating-systems data-structure question tests

This is an easy multiple-choice question about the process control block (PCB), the kernel data structure that the operating system uses to track and manage running processes. It assesses whether you understand which metadata and state the OS actually needs to store for each process, versus what might be confused as part of process management.

To answer correctly, you need to distinguish between what belongs in the OS's process abstraction—such as registers, memory layout, file descriptors, and scheduling state—and what does not. The question rewards familiarity with the actual design of process management, not just loose intuition about what "seems" related to a process.

• Process control block contents and purpose
• Kernel vs. user-space state
• Process scheduling and context switching