Difference between Multiprogramming and Multitasking

The difference between multiprogramming and multitasking is that Multitasking refers to the ability to perform two or more tasks at once. On the other hand, Multi-programming means using multiple programs simultaneously.

In this article, we will give a deep sight into the key difference between multiprogramming and multitasking.

What is Multi-Programming?

Multi-programming refers to having many programs running simultaneously without any interruptions. A program is simply a set of instructions that tells the computer what to do. When you run a program, it starts executing those instructions.

If you want to run two programs at the same time, you need to create two separate sets of instructions. You then tell the computer to execute both programs at the same time.

What is multitasking?

Multi-tasking is the act of performing two or more tasks at the same time. This is usually done by switching back and forth between applications.

Multitasking is often associated with computers where we use our computer’s processor to do several tasks at once. However, multitasking is not exclusive to computers; we also multitask in our daily lives. We may have several projects going on at once, but we don’t actually do them all at the same time. In fact, we can only focus on one thing at a time.

Multiprogramming vs Multitasking

Here are the important differences between  multiprogramming and multitasking:

Multiprogramming	Multitasking
Multiprogramming is the process of running multiple programs at the same time on one device.	Multitasking is the process of running two or more tasks at the same time.
Multiprogramming is based on the context-switching mechanism.	Multitasking is based on the time-sharing mechanism.
It takes more time to execute the process.	It takes less time to execute the process.
The idea is to decrease the CPU idle time for as long as possible.	The idea is to increase the responsiveness of the system by extending the CPU utilization concept.
The process occupies in the main memory.	The process occupies in the same CPU.

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