Final answer:
I/O-bound processes rely on external devices or user input and spend time waiting for input or output operations to complete, while CPU-bound processes require computational power and manipulate data in memory.
Step-by-step explanation:
In computer science, processes can be categorized into two groups: I/O-bound and CPU-bound.
An I/O-bound process is one that spends a significant amount of time waiting for input or output operations to complete. These processes rely heavily on external devices or user input. Examples of I/O-bound processes include reading and writing files, network operations, and user interaction.
A CPU-bound process, on the other hand, is one that requires a lot of computational power and utilizes the CPU intensively. These processes involve complex calculations, data analysis, or simulations that primarily focus on manipulating data in memory. Examples of CPU-bound processes include mathematical calculations, sorting algorithms, and video encoding.
The main difference between the two groups is their resource requirements and behavior. I/O-bound processes are more dependent on external resources and their progress is often determined by the speed of these resources, such as network bandwidth or disk access time. CPU-bound processes, on the other hand, require more computational power and are limited by the processing capacity of the CPU.