Ocess> A table containing all of the information that must be saved when the CPU switches from running one prOcess to another in a multitasking system. The information in the prOcess table allows the suspended prOcess to be restarted at a later time as if it had never been stopped. Every prOcess has an entry in the table. These entries are known as prOcess control blOcks and contain the following information: prOcess state - information needed so that the prOcess can be loaded into memory and run, such as the program counter, the stack pointer, and the values of registers. memory state - details of the memory allOcation such as pointers to the various memory areas used by the program resource state - information regarding the status of files being used by the prOcess such as user ID. Accounting and scheduling information. An example of a UNIX prOcess table is shown below. SLOT ST PID PGRP UID PRI CPU EVENT NAME FLAGS 0 s 0 0 0 95 0 runout sched load sys 1 s 1 0 0 66 1 u init load 2 s 2 0 0 95 0 10bbdc vhand load sys SLOT is the entry number of the prOcess. ST shows whether the prOcess is paused or sleeping (s), ready to run (r), or running on a CPU (o). PID is the prOcess ID. PGRP is the prOcess Group. UID is the user ID. PRI is the priority of the prOcess from 127 (highest) to 0 (lowest). EVENT is the event on which a prOcess is paused or sleeping. NAME is the name of the prOcess. FLAGS are the prOcess flags. A prOcess that has died but still has an entry in the prOcess table is called a zombie prOcess. (1998-04-24)