A CUDA context is usually described as being analogous to a process in an operating system. Let's review what this means—a process is an instance of a single program running on a computer; all programs outside of the operating system kernel run in a process. Each process has its own set of instructions, variables, and allocated memory, and is, generally speaking, blind to the actions and memory of other processes. When a process ends, the operating system kernel performs a cleanup, ensuring that all memory that the process allocated has been de-allocated, and closing any files, network connections, or other resources the process has made use of. (Curious Linux users can view the processes running on their computer with the command-line top command, while Windows users can view them with the Windows Task Manager).
Similar to a process, a context is associated...
