Briefly compare active and passive multiprogramming?

Answer 1

When a program that is being processed by the CPU issues an I/O command, control is passed to the I/O processor and the CPU is freed to process other programs. This is known as passive multiprogramming. The problem with this, is that the interruptions are primarily controlled by the programs and not the CPU. As an answer to this problem, the CPU was given the control with the advent of active multiprogramming. Active multiprogramming enabled a program to use a preset slice of CPU time before putting the program on hold to process another program. This became the advent of CPU time slicing and became the foundation for time-sharing systems in the 1960's and forward.
Active is to do something with energy, while passive is to accept what comes without putting much effort forth.

Answer 2

Passive multiprogramming is characterized by event generated interrupts that cause task switching. These events are usually the result of a program-initiated action, such as sending a record to an output device, or dividing by zero. Active multiprogramming is characterized by time generated interrupts that cause task switching. The time interrupt is generated by a system clock monitored by the operating system.