Explain OS processes, threads, and memory
Company: Optiver
Role: Software Engineer
Category: Coding & Algorithms
Difficulty: Medium
Interview Round: Technical Screen
Explain core operating system concepts: processes vs threads, context switching, and scheduling (preemptive vs cooperative and common algorithms). Describe synchronization primitives (mutexes, semaphores, condition variables), the four conditions for deadlock and avoidance/handling strategies. Explain memory management (virtual memory, paging vs segmentation, page faults, TLB) and how system calls transfer control between user and kernel mode.
Quick Answer: This question evaluates understanding of operating system fundamentals — processes versus threads, context switching and scheduling, synchronization primitives and deadlock conditions, memory management (virtual memory, paging versus segmentation, page faults, TLB) and user-kernel transitions via system calls.