Processwide

Processwide refers to the scope or resources that apply to an entire operating system process rather than to individual threads or isolated components. In a multi-threaded environment, processwide entities are shared across all threads within the same process, whereas thread-local or per-object resources are isolated.

Common examples include global configuration settings loaded at process startup, a processwide random number generator seed, or a single mutex that protects access to a shared resource. Memory allocation in most systems resides in a single per-process heap, making objects accessible across threads subject to synchronization. File descriptors opened within the process, environment variables, and signal handling policies are typically processwide.

Design and maintenance considerations include the convenience of processwide state versus the risks. Processwide state can become a bottleneck or a source of race conditions if accessed concurrently without proper synchronization. It can complicate testing due to hidden dependencies and make lifecycle management and cleanup more challenging. Security and fault tolerance may be affected since a fault in one component can impact the entire process.

Alternatives include thread-local storage for data specific to a thread, per-object or per-module configurations, or approaches such as dependency injection to minimize global state. Some platforms provide explicit mechanisms for controlling processwide versus thread-local behavior, using thread-local storage APIs or explicit handles.

See also: thread-local storage, global variable, singleton pattern, process isolation, inter-thread synchronization.