Shortest Job First (SJF) is a non-preemptive scheduling algorithm in operating systems that selects the process with the smallest burst time to execute first. In SJF, the process that requires the least amount of CPU time to complete is scheduled first, which helps in minimizing the average waiting time and average turnaround time of processes.
SJF is a type of priority scheduling algorithm, where the priority of each process is determined by its burst time. A process with a shorter burst time has a higher priority than a process with a longer burst time. Once the process is started, it runs to completion, and the CPU is not preempted until the process is finished.
SJF is suitable for batch processing systems where the job sizes are known in advance. It is also commonly used in real-time systems, where the response time is critical. However, SJF may cause starvation, where a process with a long burst time may have to wait indefinitely for the CPU.