GATE CSE 1998 | Question: 1.30

Question

When the result of a computation depends on the speed of the processes involved, there is said to be

• A. cycle stealing
• B. race condition
• C. a time lock
• D. a deadlock

Answer 1

When final result depends on ordering of processes it is called Race condition.
Speed of processes corresponds to ordering of processes.

Comments

Speed of processes corresponds to the ordering of processes.

Sir intuitively, this is tough to digest.
Anyway, can you please explain what is cycle stealing and why it is the wrong choice?

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Yes @Raj even I believe that cycle stealing would also be an appropriate answer. If someone can contradict, then please do.

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ankit3009 cycle stealing is used in DMA when the data to be written on disk is not avaiable at a burst. And no matter how the cycle stealing happens the written data on the disk (ie the result) wont be different. Hence Cycle stealing aint the ans. 

Answer 2

Race condition is like a family of n members(processes)

Each family member is sharing food(resources) which is present in Kitchen(Critical section)

Now the condition is one member can enter the kitchen at a time,

but all the persons need to eat food to stay alive.

So Race condition is when the state of a system depends on participating processes.

It is called race condition because processes need resources and they are sharing these resources, so they are like in a race to enter the Critical section(kitchen) to eat food.(having acquired the resources).

Now one important thing is after eating food, you have to excrete(There is some mechanism through with excreted food is converted again into fresh food by an algorithm)

This operation is known as Releasing all the resources once you get out of the critical section.

Answer 3

B . Because in this condition they both race to take the job first and this completely depends on their completion of time