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 as memory and other resources
- 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.