Glossary of Operating Systems Terminology

address translation

The process of converting virtual memory addresses, which programs use, into physical memory addresses, representing the actual location in memory hardware, to facilitate memory management and isolation between processes.

kernel

The core component of the operating system which acts as an intermediary between hardware and software.

program

A set of instructions or code written in a programming language that performs a specific task or set of tasks when executed by a computer.

process

A dynamic entity that represents the execution of a program in a computer’s memory. It is the actual running instance of a program.