When does the dispatcher come into action in the CPU scheduling process?

The dispatcher is called into action after the Short-Term Scheduler selects a process from the ready queue. It is a critical component of the CPU scheduling mechanism that activates when the operating system (OS) decides to transition from one task to another.
This transition usually occurs when:

  • A process has completed its CPU burst and is either in an I/O wait state or about to terminate.
  • A higher-priority process is ready to run, triggering a preemptive switch if the scheduling mechanism allows it.
  • The current process voluntarily yields the CPU, frequently due to resource availability, I/O operations, or the execution of a yield or sleep function.

It manages the low-level mechanics of context switching, allowing for multitasking and giving the operating system effective control over process execution.

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