What is the difference between threads and processes?

A process is an isolated execution unit with its own address space, resources, and memory. A thread is a lighter-weight unit that exists within a process and shares memory and resources with other threads of the same process.

Main differences:

• Isolation: processes are isolated from each other, threads are not.
• Memory: processes have separate address spaces, threads share the process's memory.
• Creation and switching: creating and switching between threads is faster and cheaper than between processes.
• Data exchange: it is easier for threads to exchange data via shared memory, while for processes it is more complex (via IPC).

Example in Python:

import threading
import multiprocessing

def worker():
    print('Working')

# Thread
thread = threading.Thread(target=worker)
thread.start()

# Process
process = multiprocessing.Process(target=worker)
process.start()