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An operating system (OS) is a collection of software that manages computer hardware resources and provides common services for computer programs. The operating system is a vital component of the system software in a computer system. This tutorial will take you through step-by-step approach while learning Operating System concepts.
This tutorial has been prepared for the computer science graduates to help them understand the basic to advanced concepts related to Operating System.
Before you start proceeding with this tutorial, we are making an assumption that you are already aware of basic computer concepts like what is keyboard, mouse, monitor, input, output, primary memory and secondary memory etc. If you are not well aware of these concepts, then we will suggest to go through our short tutorial on Computer Fundamentals.
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An Operating System (OS) is an interface between a computer user and computer hardware. An operating system is a software which performs all the basic tasks like file management, memory management, process management, handling input and output, and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers. Some popular Operating Systems include Linux Operating System, Windows Operating System, VMS, OS/400, AIX, z/OS, etc.
An operating system is a program that acts as an interface between the user and the computer hardware and controls the execution of all kinds of programs. Following are some of important functions of an operating System. Memory Management Processor Management Device Management File Management Security Control over system performance Job accounting Error detecting aids Coordination between other software and users
An Operating System does the following activities for file management: Keeps track of information, location, uses, status etc. The collective facilities are often known as file system. Decides who gets the resources. Allocates the resources. De-allocates the resources.
Following are some of the important activities that an Operating System performs: Security -- By means of password and similar other techniques, it prevents unauthorized access to programs and data. Control over system performance -- Recording delays between request for a service and response from the system. Job accounting -- Keeping track of time and resources used by various jobs and users. Error detecting aids -- Production of dumps, traces, error messages, and other debugging and error detecting aids. Coordination between other software and users -- Coordination and assignment of compilers, interpreters, assemblers and other software to the various users of the computer systems.
Operating systems are there from the very first computer generation and they keep evolving with time. In this chapter, we will discuss some of the important types of operating systems which are most commonly used.
The users of a batch operating system do not interact with the computer directly. Each user prepares his job on an off-line device like punch cards and submits it to the computer operator. To speed up processing, jobs with similar needs are batched together and run as a group. The programmers leave their programs with the operator and the operator then sorts the programs with similar requirements into batches. The problems with Batch Systems are as follows: Lack of interaction between the user and the job. CPU is often idle, because the speed of the mechanical I/O devices is slower than the CPU. Difficult to provide the desired priority.
Time-sharing is a technique which enables many people, located at various terminals, to use a particular computer system at the same time. Time-sharing or multitasking is a logical extension of multiprogramming. Processor's time which is shared among multiple users simultaneously is termed as time-sharing. The main difference between Multiprogrammed Batch Systems and Time-Sharing Systems is that in case of Multiprogrammed batch systems, the objective is to maximize processor use, whereas in Time-Sharing Systems, the objective is to minimize response time. Multiple jobs are executed by the CPU by switching between them, but the switches occur so frequently. Thus, the user can receive an immediate response. For example, in a transaction processing, the processor executes each user program in a short burst or quantum of computation. That is, if n users are present, then each user can get a time quantum. When the user submits the command, the response time is in few seconds at most. The operating system uses CPU scheduling and multiprogramming to provide each user with a small portion of a time. Computer systems that were designed primarily as batch systems have been modified to time-sharing systems. Advantages of Timesharing operating systems are as follows: Provides the advantage of quick response Avoids duplication of software Reduces CPU idle time
Remote access to servers is possible from different locations and types of systems. The disadvantages of network operating systems are as follows: High cost of buying and running a server. Dependency on a central location for most operations. Regular maintenance and updates are required.
A real-time system is defined as a data processing system in which the time interval required to process and respond to inputs is so small that it controls the environment. The time taken by the system to respond to an input and display of required updated information is termed as the response time. So in this method, the response time is very less as compared to online processing. Real-time systems are used when there are rigid time requirements on the operation of a processor or the flow of data and real-time systems can be used as a control device in a dedicated application. A real-time operating system must have well-defined, fixed time constraints, otherwise the system will fail. For example, Scientific experiments, medical imaging systems, industrial control systems, weapon systems, robots, air traffic control systems, etc. There are two types of real-time operating systems.
Hard real-time systems guarantee that critical tasks complete on time. In hard real-time systems, secondary storage is limited or missing and the data is stored in ROM. In these systems, virtual memory is almost never found.
Soft real-time systems are less restrictive. A critical real-time task gets priority over other tasks and retains the priority until it completes. Soft real-time systems have limited utility than hard real-time systems. For example, multimedia, virtual reality, Advanced Scientific Projects like undersea exploration and planetary rovers, etc.
An Operating System provides services to both the users and to the programs. It provides programs an environment to execute. It provides users the services to execute the programs in a convenient manner. Following are a few common services provided by an operating system: Program execution I/O operations File System manipulation Communication Error Detection Resource Allocation Protection
Operating systems handle many kinds of activities from user programs to system programs like printer spooler, name servers, file server, etc. Each of these activities is encapsulated as a process. A process includes the complete execution context (code to execute, data to manipulate, registers, OS resources in use). Following are the major activities of an operating system with respect to program management: Loads a program into memory Executes the program Handles program's execution Provides a mechanism for process synchronization Provides a mechanism for process communication Provides a mechanism for deadlock handling
An I/O subsystem comprises of I/O devices and their corresponding driver software. Drivers hide the peculiarities of specific hardware devices from the users. An Operating System manages the communication between user and device drivers. I/O operation means read or write operation with any file or any specific I/O device. Operating system provides the access to the required I/O device when required.
In case of multi-user or multi-tasking environment, resources such as main memory, CPU cycles and files storage are to be allocated to each user or job. Following are the major activities of an operating system with respect to resource management: The OS manages all kinds of resources using schedulers. CPU scheduling algorithms are used for better utilization of CPU.
Considering a computer system having multiple users and concurrent execution of multiple processes, the various processes must be protected from each other's activities. Protection refers to a mechanism or a way to control the access of programs, processes, or users to the resources defined by a computer system. Following are the major activities of an operating system with respect to protection: The OS ensures that all access to system resources is controlled. The OS ensures that external I/O devices are protected from invalid access attempts. The OS provides authentication features for each user by means of passwords.
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