Another pessimistic designer asks why we go to the trouble of defining a strategy with an official-sounding name like first-fit. This designer claims that a first-fit strategy is equivalent to nothing more than random memory placement.Do you agree? Explain.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

This is another excellent launch point for a class challenge. If, in fact, the first-fit strategy
always begins its search from the start of memory, it would seem that smaller holes will
tend to accumulate in low memory locations. The random strategy would seem to disperse
these holes evenly throughout memory.Again, these problem are difficult, if not impossible,
to model analytically, so a simulation seems appropriate.An interesting challenge to the class
is to come up with a slightly modified version of first-fit that would likely performas randomfit.
One way to achieve this would be to keep a pointer to the first location after the last job
inserted in memory. Then this modified first-fit strategy would begin its search from a new
point each time and would perform essentially the same as random-fit. Simulation is a wonderful
experience for students as they prepare for systems careers, and it helps them refine
their programming and systems development skills.