QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
The two operations that can be performed on a semaphore variable are select and increment (P and V).
- CORRECT ANSWER False
A computer system that can support jobs that use multiple processors to execute sets of instructions in
parallel is referred to as a ____ system. - CORRECT ANSWER concurrent processing
The ____ multiprocessing configuration is an asymmetric system. - CORRECT ANSWER
master/slave
____ proposed a solution to the readers and writers problem that did not result in starvation for
readers or writers. - CORRECT ANSWER Hoare
Parallel processing is a situation in which two or more processors operate in one system at the same
time and may or may not work on related activities. - CORRECT ANSWER True
The common element in all synchronization schemes is to allow a process to finish work on a critical
region of the program before other processes have access to it. - CORRECT ANSWER True
The classic problem of producers and consumers is one in which one or more processes produce some
data that one or more processes consume later. - CORRECT ANSWER True
The operation P in a semaphore scheme requires a(n) ____ sequence to be performed as an indivisible
action in a single machine cycle. - CORRECT ANSWER test, fetch, decrement, and store
The ____ multiprocessing configuration is the most difficult to implement because the processes must
be well synchronized to avoid races and deadlocks. - CORRECT ANSWER symmetric
In parallel computations, mutual exclusion is achieved automatically because each operation is
handled in order, one at a time. - CORRECT ANSWER False
, When multiprocessing takes place at the thread level, a high degree of synchronization is required to
disassemble each process. - CORRECT ANSWER True
Consider the given Figure, Amdahl's Law maintains that if a given program would take one hour to
run to completion with one processor, but 10 percent of the program had to run sequentially (and
therefore could not be sped up by applying additional processors to it), then a resulting parallel
program would have a maximum speed up of ____ . - CORRECT ANSWER 10
Multiprocessing can refer to one job using several processors to execute sets of instructions in
parallel. - CORRECT ANSWER True
Most current operating systems support the implementation of threads, or ____, which have become
part of numerous application packages. - CORRECT ANSWER lightweight processes
In general, parallel systems can be put into two broad categories: ____ level parallelism and
instruction level parallelism. - CORRECT ANSWER data
The success of process synchronization hinges on the capability of the operating system to make a
resource available to other processes while it is being used by one of them. - CORRECT ANSWER
False
Test-and-set is a single indivisible machine instruction. In a single machine cycle, it tests to see if a
key is available and, if it is, sets it to unavailable. - CORRECT ANSWER True
In a master/slave system, the master processor is responsible for managing the entire system—all
files, devices, memory, and processors. - CORRECT ANSWER True
The ____ multiprocessing configuration features several complete computer systems, each with its
own memory, I/O devices, CPU, and operating system. - CORRECT ANSWER loosely
coupled
The primary disadvantage of the WAIT and SIGNAL operation set is that it does not address busy
waiting. - CORRECT ANSWER False