Question

Give any three differences between Fixed Partitioning and Variable Partitioning.

Answer 1

Sr. No.	Aspect	Fixed Partitioning	Variable Partitioning
1.	Partition size & flexibility	Partitions are created with fixed sizes at system generation and cannot be changed at run time.	Partitions are created/adjusted at run time. The number and sizes of partitions can vary as processes are loaded and removed.
2.	Type of fragmentation	Prone to internal fragmentation (wasted space inside a partition when a process is smaller than its partition).	Prone to external fragmentation (small free holes appear between allocated regions); requires compaction or paging to alleviate.
3.	Multiprogramming & overhead	Limits the degree of multiprogramming but has simpler, faster allocation/deallocation (lower time complexity).	Allows greater multiprogramming and typically better utilisation, but needs more complex allocation algorithms and incurs higher overhead/time complexity.