Explain the differences between preemptive multitasking and cooperative multitasking models.

Preemptive multitasking and cooperative multitasking differ in the way they switch between tasks:

• Preemptive: the operating system or scheduler interrupts the current task to give time to another. This ensures a fairer distribution of resources and prevents system hang-ups caused by a single task.

• Cooperative: tasks decide themselves when to yield control to others. If a task does not yield, others may not get processor time, which can lead to hangs.

Example in Python:

import threading
import time

def task():
    for i in range(5):
        print(i)
        time.sleep(1)  # here, time is yielded to other threads

thread = threading.Thread(target=task)
thread.start()

In Python, threads operate with preemption, as the interpreter periodically switches execution between threads.