Explanation
To identify the correct statement, let's analyze each point based on standard Operating System principles:
Statement (I): The virtual address space can be larger than the amount of physical memory.
Statement (II): Programs must be resident in main memory throughout their execution.
Statement (III): Pages correspond to semantic characteristics of the programs.
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False: Paging is a physical division of memory. Memory is divided into fixed-size blocks (pages) regardless of the program's logic (like functions or data structures).
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Note: It is Segmentation that corresponds to semantic characteristics (logical divisions like code, data, and stack).
Summary Table:
| Statement |
Status |
Reason |
| (I) |
True |
Enables running large programs in small RAM. |
| (II) |
False |
Only the active pages need to be in RAM. |
| (III) |
False |
Pages are fixed-size physical units, not logical units. |
Final Answer:
The correct option is (a) I only.