Thinking Concurrently (OCR A-Level Computer Science): Flashcards

The ability to execute multiple tasks/processes simultaneously or overlap their execution

Optimise resource usage & reduce total execution time

Which tasks are independent & which are dependent

Tasks that can run in parallel without affecting correctness

Tasks that must be completed before others can start

Tasks completed faster by using system resources effectively

Better use of multi-core processors & distributed systems

Users experience faster responses as tasks run simultaneously

Race conditions or inconsistent states when tasks share data

Tasks wait indefinitely for each other, causing standstill

Harder to design & debug due to synchronisation needs

Using multiple threads to execute tasks concurrently

Tasks initiated without waiting for completion