https://comparison.metacog.co.kr/tags/process-management/Recent content in Process-Management on IT ComparisonHugoen-usSun, 02 Aug 2026 05:43:29 +0900https://comparison.metacog.co.kr/posts/2026-08-02-process-vs-thread-isolation-vs-shared-execution/Sun, 02 Aug 2026 05:43:29 +0900https://comparison.metacog.co.kr/posts/2026-08-02-process-vs-thread-isolation-vs-shared-execution/<h2 id="overview">Overview</h2> <p>A process is an independently executing program instance with its own private address space, while a thread is a lightweight unit of execution that runs inside a process and shares that process&rsquo;s memory with its sibling threads. The distinction matters because it determines how much isolation, communication overhead, and crash-safety you get versus how cheap context switching and data sharing are.</p> <h2 id="comparison-diagram">Comparison Diagram</h2> <div class="compare-diagram"> <svg viewBox="0 0 640 360" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"> <text x="95" y="35" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--primary)" font-size="18" font-weight="bold">Process</text> <text x="475" y="35" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--primary)" font-size="18" font-weight="bold">Thread</text> <rect x="20" y="55" width="110" height="250" style="fill:var(--compare-a-soft);stroke:var(--compare-a)" stroke-width="1.5"/> <text x="75" y="72" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--primary)" font-size="11" font-weight="bold">Process A</text> <rect x="30" y="80" width="90" height="24" style="fill:none;stroke:var(--border)" stroke-width="1"/> <text x="75" y="96" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--content)" font-size="9">Code</text> <rect x="30" y="108" width="90" height="24" style="fill:none;stroke:var(--border)" stroke-width="1"/> <text x="75" y="124" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--content)" font-size="9">Data</text> <rect x="30" y="136" width="90" height="34" style="fill:none;stroke:var(--border)" stroke-width="1"/> <text x="75" y="157" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--content)" font-size="9">Heap</text> <rect x="30" y="174" width="90" height="48" style="fill:none;stroke:var(--border)" stroke-width="1"/> <text x="75" y="200" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--content)" font-size="9">Stack</text> <rect x="170" y="55" width="110" height="250" style="fill:var(--compare-a-soft);stroke:var(--compare-a)" stroke-width="1.5"/> <text x="225" y="72" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--primary)" font-size="11" font-weight="bold">Process B</text> <rect x="180" y="80" width="90" height="24" style="fill:none;stroke:var(--border)" stroke-width="1"/> <text x="225" y="96" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--content)" font-size="9">Code</text> <rect x="180" y="108" width="90" height="24" style="fill:none;stroke:var(--border)" stroke-width="1"/> <text x="225" y="124" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--content)" font-size="9">Data</text> <rect x="180" y="136" width="90" height="34" style="fill:none;stroke:var(--border)" stroke-width="1"/> <text x="225" y="157" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--content)" font-size="9">Heap</text> <rect x="180" y="174" width="90" height="48" style="fill:none;stroke:var(--border)" stroke-width="1"/> <text x="225" y="200" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--content)" font-size="9">Stack</text> <line x1="131" y1="165" x2="169" y2="165" style="stroke:var(--secondary)" stroke-width="1.5" stroke-dasharray="4,3"/> <text x="150" y="245" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--secondary)" font-size="9">no shared memory</text> <text x="150" y="258" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--secondary)" font-size="9">(IPC only)</text> <rect x="340" y="55" width="270" height="250" style="fill:none;stroke:var(--border)" stroke-width="1.5"/> <text x="475" y="70" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--secondary)" font-size="9">single process address space</text> <rect x="355" y="82" width="240" height="50" style="fill:none;stroke:var(--border)" stroke-width="1.5"/> <text x="475" y="103" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--content)" font-size="9">Shared Code / Data / Heap</text> <line x1="390" y1="132" x2="390" y2="160" style="stroke:var(--compare-b)" stroke-width="1.5"/> <line x1="475" y1="132" x2="475" y2="160" style="stroke:var(--compare-b)" stroke-width="1.5"/> <line x1="560" y1="132" x2="560" y2="160" style="stroke:var(--compare-b)" stroke-width="1.5"/> <rect x="355" y="160" width="70" height="130" style="fill:var(--compare-b-soft);stroke:var(--compare-b)" stroke-width="1.5"/> <text x="390" y="176" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--primary)" font-size="9" font-weight="bold">Thread 1</text> <rect x="362" y="184" width="56" height="44" style="fill:none;stroke:var(--border)" stroke-width="1"/> <text x="390" y="209" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--content)" font-size="8">Stack</text> <rect x="362" y="232" width="56" height="44" style="fill:none;stroke:var(--border)" stroke-width="1"/> <text x="390" y="257" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--content)" font-size="8">Registers</text> <rect x="440" y="160" width="70" height="130" style="fill:var(--compare-b-soft);stroke:var(--compare-b)" stroke-width="1.5"/> <text x="475" y="176" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--primary)" font-size="9" font-weight="bold">Thread 2</text> <rect x="447" y="184" width="56" height="44" style="fill:none;stroke:var(--border)" stroke-width="1"/> <text x="475" y="209" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--content)" font-size="8">Stack</text> <rect x="447" y="232" width="56" height="44" style="fill:none;stroke:var(--border)" stroke-width="1"/> <text x="475" y="257" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--content)" font-size="8">Registers</text> <rect x="525" y="160" width="70" height="130" style="fill:var(--compare-b-soft);stroke:var(--compare-b)" stroke-width="1.5"/> <text x="560" y="176" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--primary)" font-size="9" font-weight="bold">Thread 3</text> <rect x="532" y="184" width="56" height="44" style="fill:none;stroke:var(--border)" stroke-width="1"/> <text x="560" y="209" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--content)" font-size="8">Stack</text> <rect x="532" y="232" width="56" height="44" style="fill:none;stroke:var(--border)" stroke-width="1"/> <text x="560" y="257" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--content)" font-size="8">Registers</text> <p><text x="475" y="312" text-anchor="middle" style="fill:var(--secondary)" font-size="9">shared heap/code, private stack per thread</text> </svg></p>