Question

Arrange the steps in process state transition.
• [(i)] Running
• [(ii)] Ready
• [(iii)] New
• [(iv)] Waiting

• A. (i) $\rightarrow$ (ii) $\rightarrow$ (iii) $\rightarrow$ (iv)
• B. (iii) $\rightarrow$ (ii) $\rightarrow$ (i) $\rightarrow$ (iv)
• C. (iv) $\rightarrow$ (i) $\rightarrow$ (ii) $\rightarrow$ (iii)
• D. (ii) $\rightarrow$ (i) $\rightarrow$ (iii) $\rightarrow$ (iv)

Hint:

A simple way to remember the process lifecycle is: \[ \text{New} \rightarrow \text{Ready} \rightarrow \text{Running} \rightarrow \text{Waiting} \] Think of it as: Created $\rightarrow$ Waiting for CPU $\rightarrow$ Executing $\rightarrow$ Waiting for Resource.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Concept: A process is a program that is currently being executed. During its lifetime, a process passes through several states managed by the operating system. These states help the operating system track the progress of every process and allocate system resources efficiently. The standard process states are:
• New: The process is being created.
• Ready: The process is prepared to execute and is waiting for CPU allocation.
• Running: The CPU is currently executing the process instructions.
• Waiting (Blocked): The process is waiting for an event such as I/O completion.
• Terminated: The process has completed execution.

Step 1: Identifying the initial state. Whenever a user starts a program, the operating system first creates a process and allocates a Process Control Block (PCB). At this stage, the process enters the New state. Therefore, the first state is: \[ (iii)\ \text{New} \]

Step 2: Moving to the Ready state. After creation, the operating system loads the necessary information into memory and places the process in the ready queue. The process is now ready to execute but is waiting for CPU allocation. Thus, the next state is: \[ (ii)\ \text{Ready} \]

Step 3: Transitioning to Running state. The CPU scheduler selects one process from the ready queue and assigns the CPU to it. The process now starts executing instructions. Hence, the process enters: \[ (i)\ \text{Running} \]

Step 4: Transitioning to Waiting state. While executing, the process may need to perform an I/O operation such as:
• Reading a file
• Receiving network data
• Waiting for keyboard input During this period, the process cannot continue execution and enters the Waiting (Blocked) state. Thus, the next state becomes: \[ (iv)\ \text{Waiting} \]

Step 5: Constructing the correct sequence. Combining all transitions: \[ \text{New} \rightarrow \text{Ready} \rightarrow \text{Running} \rightarrow \text{Waiting} \] or \[ (iii)\rightarrow(ii)\rightarrow(i)\rightarrow(iv) \] Hence, the correct answer is: \[ \boxed{\text{Option (B)}} \]