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Reference.org
Process control block
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<p>A process control block (PCB), also sometimes called a process descriptor, is a data structure used by a computer <a href="/facts/Operating_system/8XTuvMh2">operating system</a> to store all the information about a <a href="/facts/Process_(computing)/Vcq7EnUV"> process</a>. </p><p>When a process is created (initialized or installed), the operating system creates a corresponding process control block, which specifies and tracks the process state (i.e. new, ready, running, waiting or terminated). Since it is used to track process information, the PCB plays a key role in <a href="/facts/Context_switching/N0oJQ6CC">context switching</a>. </p><p>An operating system kernel stores PCBs in a process table. </p><p>The current <a href="/facts/Working_directory/2qI00r0z">working directory</a> of a process is one of the properties that the kernel stores in the process's PCB. </p>