Question

    Which of the following algorithms is specifically designed to minimize the average time a process spends waiting before execution in a CPU scheduling context?

    A Round Robin (RR) Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    B Shortest Job First (SJF) Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    C First-Come-First-Served (FCFS) Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    D Priority Scheduling Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    E Multilevel Queue Scheduling Correct Answer Incorrect Answer

    Solution

    The Shortest Job First (SJF) scheduling algorithm is specifically designed to minimize the average waiting time of processes in the CPU scheduling context. By selecting the process with the smallest execution time first, SJF reduces the amount of time other processes need to wait, thereby minimizing the average waiting time. This approach is based on the premise that shorter processes will complete more quickly, allowing subsequent processes to start sooner and reducing the overall waiting time. Why Other Options are Wrong: a) Round Robin (RR) scheduling allocates fixed time slices to each process, which can lead to higher average waiting time due to context switching, especially for short jobs. c) First-Come-First-Served (FCFS) scheduling does not prioritize shorter jobs, which can lead to the "convoy effect" where long processes delay the execution of shorter ones, resulting in higher average waiting time. d) Priority Scheduling may reduce waiting time for high-priority processes but can lead to starvation of low-priority processes and does not inherently minimize average waiting time. e) Multilevel Queue Scheduling handles processes based on different priority queues but does not specifically focus on minimizing average waiting time across all queues.

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