Outline three components of the process scheduler. (3 marks)DICT MOD 1 July 2020

The process scheduler is a component of the operating system that is responsible for managing the execution of processes on a computer. It determines which processes should be run and allocates the available resources (such as processor time and memory) to those processes. There are several components of the process scheduler that are involved in this process. Here are three examples:

1. The scheduler queue: The scheduler queue is a data structure that stores information about the processes that are waiting to be run. It may be implemented as a list, a queue, or some other data structure, depending on the scheduling algorithm being used.
2. The scheduling algorithm: The scheduling algorithm is a set of rules or policies that determine how the scheduler should select which process to run next. There are many different scheduling algorithms that can be used, and the choice of algorithm can have a significant impact on the performance of the system.
3. The dispatch function: The dispatch function is the part of the scheduler that actually selects a process from the scheduler queue and allocates the necessary resources to it. It may also be responsible for switching the processor between different processes, which is known as a context switch.