Western Governors University (WGU) ICSC2211 D684 Introduction to Computer Science Practice Test

During single contiguous memory management, a process is loaded into a fixed memory location. This means that when a program is executed, it is allocated a continuous block of memory at a specific address. This approach simplifies memory management because the operating system knows exactly where in memory the program is located, allowing for straightforward access and execution.

In this system, the entire memory space is allocated to a single process at any one time, which eliminates the complexity of dealing with multiple processes in memory. As there is a clear demarcation of where one process's memory ends and another's begins, it reduces the overhead related to managing multiple memory blocks and the associated fragmentation that can occur in more dynamic memory allocation schemes.

This method can be less efficient for multitasking environments, as it may lead to underutilization of memory if multiple processes need to run concurrently; however, it is straightforward and works well for certain applications, especially those that do not require dynamic memory allocation during runtime.