difference between concurrency and parallelism.

By vivek kumar in 22 Jul 2024 | 07:33 pm
vivek kumar

vivek kumar

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 difference between concurrency and parallelism.

22 Jul 2024 | 07:33 pm
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Prince

Prince

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Member since: 20 Jul 2024

**Concurrency** and **parallelism** are related concepts in computing, but they refer to different approaches to handling multiple tasks. Here's a comparison:


### **Concurrency**


1. **Definition**: Concurrency refers to the ability of a system to handle multiple tasks or processes in an overlapping manner. It doesn’t necessarily mean that tasks are executed simultaneously, but rather that they are managed in a way that allows for progress in multiple tasks.


2. **Context Switching**: In concurrent systems, tasks are often interleaved through context switching, where the system switches between tasks so that each gets a portion of CPU time. This creates the illusion of simultaneous execution.


3. **Resource Sharing**: Concurrency typically involves tasks sharing resources, such as CPU time or memory. This requires mechanisms to manage resource access and ensure that tasks do not interfere with each other.


4. **Use Case**: Concurrency is useful for improving the responsiveness of applications, such as handling multiple user inputs or I/O operations without having to wait for each task to complete.


5. **Implementation**: Concurrency can be implemented through multitasking, multithreading, or asynchronous programming, where tasks are designed to cooperate and manage their progress without requiring simultaneous execution.


### **Parallelism**


1. **Definition**: Parallelism refers to the simultaneous execution of multiple tasks or processes, leveraging multiple processors or cores to perform tasks at the same time.


2. **Simultaneous Execution**: In parallel systems, tasks are actually executed simultaneously by different processors or cores, which can significantly speed up the completion of complex computations.


3. **Resource Utilization**: Parallelism maximizes the utilization of available hardware resources by distributing tasks across multiple processors or cores, leading to improved performance for computationally intensive applications.


4. **Use Case**: Parallelism is ideal for tasks that can be divided into independent sub-tasks, such as large-scale data processing, scientific simulations, or rendering graphics, where concurrent execution can lead to significant performance gains.


5. **Implementation**: Parallelism is implemented through techniques such as multi-core processing, distributed computing, and parallel algorithms, where tasks are designed to run concurrently on separate hardware resources.


### Summary


- **Concurrency** is about managing multiple tasks in a way that they progress without necessarily running at the same time. It focuses on the coordination of tasks and efficient use of resources.

- **Parallelism** is about executing multiple tasks simultaneously using multiple processors or cores, aiming to improve performance and speed up processing.


Both concepts are essential for modern computing, with concurrency improving responsiveness and resource management, and parallelism enhancing performance through simultaneous execution.

23 Jul 2024 | 12:22 am
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