23.2.8 Indefinite Postponement and Deadlock
When a higher-priority thread enters the ready state, the operating system generally preempts the currently running thread (an operation known as preemptive scheduling). Depending on the operating system, a steady influx of higher-priority threads could postpone—possibly indefinitely—the execution of lower-priority threads. Such indefinite postponement is sometimes referred to more colorfully as starvation. Operating systems employ a technique called aging to prevent starvation—as a thread waits in the ready state, the operating system gradually increases the thread’s priority to ensure that the thread will eventually run.
Another problem related to indefinite postponement is called deadlock. This ...
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