What is a process state?

A process state refers to the current condition or phase in which a process exists during its execution within an operating system. The state of a process can change based on its interaction with the system and other processes. The typical process states include:

1. **New:** The process is being created and initialized, such as allocating necessary resources.

2. **Ready:** The process is ready to execute and waiting for the CPU.

3. **Running:** The process is currently being executed on the CPU.

4. **Blocked (or Waiting):** The process is waiting for some event (like I/O completion) to occur before it can proceed.

5. **Terminated (or Exit):** The process has finished execution and has been terminated, either normally or abnormally.

The operating system transitions processes between these states based on events like scheduling decisions, completion of I/O operations, or signals from other processes. Understanding and managing process states are crucial for efficient resource utilization and system stability in multitasking environments.