Address-binding problem
Each process requires an illusion of its own computer including its own memory, it must also be reliable (prevent one process from accessing another’s memory) and security (even if the process’s user is malicious).
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The text segment of a program reference memory, and in some cases this may be done by absolute address.
In a nutshell, how can programs be written as if memory is private to themselves as concrete instructions referencing specific memory addresses, but still executed in a share of physical memory (efficiently, reliably, and securely).
Non-solutions
We could:
- Avoid multi-programming - keep only one program in memory We lose efficiency and functionality Context switching all of memory to / from disk is too slow
- Static assignment of address ranges to programs Doesn’t consider multiple instances of the same program Causes fixed fragmentation