How threads differ from processes

Threads differ from traditional multitasking operating system processes in that:

• processes are typically independent, while threads exist as subsets of a process
• processes carry considerably more state information than threads, whereas multiple threads within a process share process state as well asmemory and otherresources
• processes have separate address spaces, whereas threads share their address space
• processes interact only through system-provided inter-process communication mechanisms
• Context switching between threads in the same process is typically faster than context switching between processes.

Systems like Windows NT and OS/2 are said to have "cheap" threads and "expensive" processes; in other operating systems there is not so great a difference except the cost ofaddress space switch which implies aTLB flush.