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Consider this analogy:
You have a nice size kitchen that you cook in - and you love to cook, especially for parties and holidays.
For your daily cooking needs, there's plenty of counter space to work with - you have room to get your ingredients out, a few mixing bowls, the coffee pot and so on.
But when you start to prepare for the big holiday meal, all of a sudden you're starting to have way too many tasks trying to be done in this space. You get the idea to use the dining table in the next room to put some of your stuff on while you work on other things.
That works out pretty good - you take stuff back and forth from the dining room to the kitchen as you need to work on them (such as turkey stuffing, pies, cakes, cookies, more pies).
This works out pretty well, but you see that you're spending lots of time traveling back and forth to your extra workspace - moving things around to be able to focus on the task of the moment.
Now to apply the analogy:
RAM memory is your primary workspace (kitchen) - the operating system and active applications are all trying to utilize this very fast functioning electronic space.
As DOS matured, and applications were developed to allow for loading more than a single application at one time, and ultimately run at the same time, (PC Tools, DR-DOS, Windows) there just wasn't enough room in the limited RAM available at the time (64KB, 128KB, etc).
The strategy of using hard drive space as an extension of RAM was devised (dining room) - thus virtual memory. The CPU now had a place to move non-priority tasks over to while it focused on processing the highest priority task of the moment in RAM.
Back and forth, back and forth.
A little slow, but functionally effective to accommodate task-switching, and ultimately multi-tasking.
That's my take on the story, and now off to get some pie...
Wiki User
∙ 15y ago
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Is virtual memory swap file?
Absolutely not! Virtual memory is a system that provides a virtual environment to applications that is independent of computer physical resources. The swap file (more corectly called the pagefile) serves only in a supporting role.
Where virtual memory is stored?
In the C:\pagefile.sys file. WRONG! That is a very common view but totally wrong. Virtual memory is a system that provides a virtual environment to applications that is completely independent of computer physical resources. This system is always in use and cannot be disabled. The system combines physical memory, many files on the hardisk, as well as the pagefile, to accomplish this. The pagefile serves only in a supporting role. I believe this is RIGHT (OS book page 149) Pagefile.sys is a hidden file stored in the root directory C. when using virtual memory.
Will I lose bios memory in my desktop computer if I take out the battery?
what is the role of BIOS? why is it important for it to keep its memory after the computer is switched off?
What role does the memory play in the functioning of a computer system?
it is used by computer to store contents
What is the role of operating system in memory management?
Role of the Memory management unit in Operating system Every program for its execution requires some space in computer memory which is provided by memory management unit using virtual memory that provides the external storage addressing location for the programs that does not have too much space in main memory for their execution and saved them in secondary memory but when required loaded them again in main memory. This deallocation and reallocation of programs in main memory deals with concurrency. At last, we say that loading capabilities of programs with the memory addressing is there in it.
What is the role of an address when used in the context of computer memory?
In the context of computer memory, an address is used to access the computer's primary storage memory. These addresses consist of fixed-length digits displayed as unsigned integers.
Role of rom in computer?
First of All ROM stands for READ ONLY MEMORY the role of ROM in computer is to store all the Information about any computer hardware such as the processor speed, CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drives etc. It is a permenant memory which contains also BIOS (basic input output system) configuration and settings.
What is the Difference between memory management ans device management?
Memory Management.The kernel of a computer will have full access to the system's memory and is required to allow any processes to access this memory when needed. To do this, the kernel carries out virtual addressing. Within virtual addressing it is possible to make a given physical address to appear as a virtual address, i.e. Another address. These virtual address spaces are different for different processes.The memory that is processed to access one virtual address may be different to the memory that a process accesses at the same address. These spaces allow ever program on the computer to run as if it is the only one and stops these applications from crashing each other. Virtual addressing can also be used to create virtual partitions of memory in disjointed areas. One of these areas will be reserved for the kernel and other for applications.Device Management.Device drivers, processed by the kernel, are used in order to control the peripherals that are connected to the computer. These peripherals need to be accessed by processes to perform useful functions. A list of the available devices is maintained by a kernel and is either known in advance, configured by the user or detected by the operating system at run time.Device management is a very operating system specific topic and each of the drivers is handled differently by the different kinds of kernel design. The thing that they all have in common is that the kernel is required to provide the input output to allow drivers to access their devices.These two different facilities within the kernel of a computer are used alongside process management and system calls to help the kernel carry out its role within the system.
What is the role of RAM?
The role of RAM or random access memory in computer data processing is to hold calculations and information. Once the system is restarted or power is lost, the information within the RAM is lost.
What is memory sub-system organization?
Memory sub-system organization refers to how computer memory is structured and managed within a system. It typically involves different levels of memory hierarchy such as cache memory, main memory, and secondary storage. Each level is designed to optimize data access speed, capacity, and cost efficiency. The organization of memory subsystems plays a critical role in determining the overall performance of a computer system.
What is the role of ram inthe computer?
The role of Random Access Memory (RAM) is to store information about a program when it is being used by the hard drive, so tha you can access the program faster.
What is the role of mathematics in computer science?
what is the role of computer in mathematics what is the role of computer in mathematics
