Operating

Systems

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 What is an Operating
System?
• A program that acts an intermediary
between a user of a computer and
the computer hardware.
• Name various OSs
• _____________________________
• _____________________________
• _____________________________
• _____________________________

Why we use OS?

• The purpose of an operating system
is to
– provide an environment in which a user
can execute programs.
– make the computer system convenient
to use
– Allow users to use the computer
hardware in an efficient manner

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 Components of a computer
system
• Hardware (memory, CPU, arithmetic-logic
unit, various bulk storage, I/O, peripheral
devices... )
• Software (operating system, compilers,
editors, loaders, utilities...)
• Data (database systems, business programs... )

Conceptual view of a computer

system

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 What does what?
• The central processing unit ( CPU) is located on
chips inside the system unit. The CPU is the brain
of the computer. This is the place where the
computer interprets and processes information.
• Systems programs are programs written for
direct execution on computer hardware in order
to make the power of the computer fully and
efficiently accessible to applications programmers
and other computer users.
• systems programs provide the foundation upon
which application programs are built, it is most
important that systems programs are reliable,
efficient and correct.

OS Definition
• In a computer system the hardware
provides the basic computing resources.
The applications programs define the way
in which these resources are used to solve
the computing problems of the users. The
operating system controls and coordinates
the use of the hardware among the
various systems programs and application
programs for the various users.

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 Computer Resources
• The basic resources of a computer
system are provided by its hardware,
software and data. The operating
system provides the means for the
proper use of these resources in the
operation of the computer system. It
simply provides an environment
within which other programs can do
useful work.

Views of an OS
• We can view an operating system as a resource
allocator. These system resources may be
required to solve a problem: CPU time, memory
space, file storage space, input/output devices
etc.
– The operating system acts as the manager of these
resources and allocates them to specific programs and
users as necessary for their tasks. Since there may be
many, possibly conflicting, requests for resources, the
operating system must decide which requests are
allocated resources to operate the computer system
fairly and efficiently.
• An operating system is a control program. This
program controls the execution of user programs
to prevent errors and improper use of the
computer.

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 Why we use them?
• Operating systems exist because
they are a reasonable way to solve
the problem of creating a usable
computing system. The fundamental
goal of a computer system is to
execute user programs and solve
user problems.

Goals of an OS
• The primary goal of an operating system is a
convenience for the user. Operating systems exit
because they are supposed to make it easier to
compute with an operating system than without
an operating system. This is particularly clear
when you look at operating system for small
personal computers.
• A secondary goal is the efficient operation of an
computer system. This goal is particularly
important for large, shared multi-user systems.
Operating systems can solve this goal. It is
known that sometimes these two goals,
convenience and efficiency, are contradictory

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 OS Definition
• operating system ( OS ) is a group of
programs designed to serve two basic
purposes:
– To control the allocation and use of the
computing system’s resources among the
various users and tasks, and.
– To provide an interface between the computer
hardware and the programmer that simplifies
and makes feasible the creation, coding,
debugging, and maintenance of application
programs.

OS Design Principals
• an effective operating system should accomplish all of the
following:
– Facilitate creation and modification of program and data files
through an editor program,
– Provide access to compilers to translate programs from high-
level languages to machine language,
– Provide a loader program to move the complied program code
to the computer’s memory for execution,
– Provide routines that handle the intricate details of I/O
programming,
– Assure that when there are several active processes in the
computer, each will get fair and non-interfering access to the
central processing unit for execution,
– Take care of storage and device allocation,
– Provide for long term storage of user information in the form
of files, and
– Permit system resources to be shared among users when
appropriate, and be protected from unauthorized or
mischievous intervention as necessary.

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 Types of OS
• Operating systems may be classified into
three groups, which are distinguished by
the nature of interaction that takes place
between the computer user and his or her
program during its processing. The three
groups are called batch, time-shared and
real time operating systems.
– Batch processing operating systems
– Time sharing operating systems
– Real time operating systems

Batch Processing
• users submit jobs to a central place where
these jobs are collected into a batch, and
subsequently placed on an input queue at
the computer where they will be run. In
this case, the user has no interaction with
the job during its processing, and the
computer’s response time is the
turnaround time-the time from submission
of the job until execution is complete, and
the results are ready for return to the
person who submitted the job.

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 Time Sharing
• a computer provides computing services
to several or many users concurrently on-
line. Here, the various users are sharing
the central processor, the memory, and
other resources of the computer system in
a manner facilitated, controlled, and
monitored by the operating system. The
user, in this environment, has nearly full
interaction with the program during its
execution, and the computer’s response
time may be expected to be no more than
a few second

Real Time OS
• designed to service those applications
where response time is of the essence in
order to prevent error, misrepresentation
or even disaster. Examples of real time
operating systems are those which handle
airlines reservations, machine tool control,
and monitoring of a nuclear power station.
The systems, in this case, are designed to
be interrupted by external signal that
require the immediate attention of the
computer system.

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 Hybrid Systems?
• Many computer operating systems
are hybrids, providing for more than
one of these types of computing
service simultaneously. It is
especially common to have a
background batch system running in
conjunction with one of the other two
on the same computer.

Other definitions
(Keywords)
• A multiprogramming operating system is a
system that allows more than one active
user program (or part of user program) to
be stored in main memory simultaneously.
• a time-sharing system is a multiprogramming
system, but note that a multiprogramming system is
not necessarily a time-sharing system.
• A multiprocessing system is a computer
hardware configuration that includes more
than one independent processing unit. The
term multiprocessing is generally used to
refer to large computer hardware
complexes found in major scientific or
commercial applications.

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 Keywords (Contd.)
• A networked computing system is a
collection of physical interconnected
computers. The operating system of each
of the interconnected computers must
contain, in addition to its own stand-alone
functionality, provisions for handing
communication and transfer of program
and data among the other computers with
which it is connected.

Keywords (Contd.)
• A distributed computing system consists of
a number of computers that are connected
and managed so that they automatically
share the job processing load among the
constituent computers, or separate the job
load as appropriate particularly configured
processors. Such a system requires an
operating system which, in addition to the
typical stand-alone functionality, provides
coordination of the operations and
information flow among the component
computers.

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 Networked vs. Distributed
• The networked and distributed computing environments
and their respective operating systems are designed with
more complex functional capabilities. In a network
operating system the users are aware of the existence of
multiple computers, and can log in to remote machines and
copy files from one machine to another. Each machine runs
its own local operating system and has its own user (or
users).
• A distributed operating system, in contrast, is one that
appears to its users as a traditional uni-processor system,
even though it is actually composed of multiple processors.
In a true distributed system, users should not be aware of
where their programs are being run or where their files are
located; that should all be handled automatically and
efficiently by the operating system.

Networked vs. Distributed

• Network operating systems are not fundamentally different
from single processor operating systems. They obviously
need a network interface controller and some low-level
software to drive it, as well as programs to achieve remote
login and remote files access, but these additions do not
change the essential structure of the operating systems.

• True distributed operating systems require more than just

adding a little code to a uni-processor operating system,
because distributed and centralized systems differ in critical
ways. Distributed systems, for example, often allow
program to run on several processors at the same time,
thus requiring more complex processor scheduling
algorithms in order to optimize the amount of parallelism
achieved.

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 History of the OS
• Because the history of computer
operating systems parallels that of
computer hardware, it can be
generally divided into five distinct
time periods, called generations, that
are characterized by hardware
component technology, software
development, and mode of delivery
of computer services.

History of OS (Contd.)
• The Zeroth Generation
– the period of development of computing, which predated the
commercial production and sale of computer equipment. The
period might be dated as extending from the mid-1800s, and
Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, to the development of
the fist commercial computer in 1951.

• The First Generation, 1951-1956

– the beginning of commercial computing, including the
introduction of Eckert and Mauchly’s UNIVAC I in early
1951, and a bit later, The IBM 701 which was also
known as the Defense Calculator. The first generation
was characterized again by the vacuum tube as the
active component technology.

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 History of OS (Contd.)
• The second Generation, 1956-
1964
– notably characterized by transistors replacing vacuum tubes as
the hardware component technology. In addition, some very
important changes in hardware and software architectures
occurred during this period. For the most part, computer
systems remained card and tape-oriented systems. A
noteworthy example is the compatible Time Sharing System
(CTSS), developed at MIT during the early 1960s.

• The Third Generation, 1964-1979

– In April 1964 with IBM’s announcement of its System/360
family of computers. Hardware technology began to use
integrated circuits (ICs) which yielded significant advantages
in both speed and economy.

History of OS (Contd.)
• The Fourth Generation, 1979 –
Present
– Appearance of the personal computer and the workstation.
Miniaturization of electronic circuits and components continued
and large scale integration (LSI), the component technology of
the third generation, was replaced by very large scale
integration (VLSI), which characterizes the fourth generation.
– Improvements in hardware miniaturization and technology
have evolved so fast that we now have inexpensive
workstation-class computer capable of supporting
multiprogramming and time-sharing. Hence the operating
systems that supports today’s personal computers and
workstations look much like those which were available for the
minicomputers of the third generation.
– Examples are Microsoft’s DOS for IBM-compatible
personal computers and UNIX for workstation

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 Operating Systems
Components
Process Management
Memory Management
Secondary Storage Management
I/O System
File Management
Protection System
Networking
Command Interpreter System

Operating Systems
Components
Operating System provides the
environment within which programs are
executed. To construct such an
environment, the system is partitioned
into small modules with a well-defined
interface. The design of a new operating
system is a major task. It is very
important that the goals of the system be
will defined before the design begins. The
type of system desired is the foundation
for choices between various algorithms
and strategies that will be necessary

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 Process Management
The CPU executes a large number of
programs. While its main concern is the
execution of user programs, the CPU is also
needed for other system activities. These
activities are called processes. A process is a
program in execution. Typically, a batch job is a
process. A time-shared user program is a
process. A system task, such as spooling, is also
a process. For now, a process may be considered
as a job or a time-shared program, but the
concept is actually more general.

Process Management (contd.)

A process is the unit of work in a
system. Such a system consists of a
collection of processes, some of
which are operating system
processes, those that execute
system code, and the rest being user
processes, those that execute user
code. All of those processes can
potentially execute concurrently.

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 Process Management (contd.)
Operating System is responsible for the
following activities in connection with
processes managed.
– The creation and deletion of both user and
system processes
– The suspension are resumption of processes.
– The provision of mechanisms for process
synchronization
– The provision of mechanisms for deadlock
handling

Memory Management
Memory is a large array of words or bytes,
each with its own address. Interaction is achieved
through a sequence of reads or writes of specific
memory address. The CPU fetches from and
stores in memory
The operating system is responsible for the
following activities in connection with memory
management.
– Keep track of which parts of memory are currently being
used and by whom.
– Decide which processes are to be loaded into memory
when memory space becomes available.
– Allocate and de-allocate memory space as needed.

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 Secondary Storage
Management
The main purpose of a computer system is to execute programs.
These programs, together with the data they access, must be in
main memory during execution. Since the main memory is too
small to permanently accommodate all data and program, the
computer system must provide secondary storage to backup main
memory. Most modem computer systems use disks as the primary
on-line storage of information, of both programs and data. Most
programs, like compilers, assemblers, sort routines, editors,
formatters, and so on, are stored on the disk until loaded into
memory, and then use the disk as both the source and destination
of their processing. Hence the proper management of disk storage
is of central importance to a computer system
The operating system is responsible for the following activities in
connection with disk management
– Free space management
– Storage allocation
– Disk scheduling

I/O System
One of the purposes of an operating system is
to hide the peculiarities of specific hardware
devices from the user. For example, in Unix, the
peculiarities of I/O devices are hidden from the
bulk of the operating system itself by the I/O
system. The I/O system consists of:
– A buffer caching system
– A general device driver code
– Drivers for specific hardware devices.
Only the device driver knows the peculiarities of a
specific device.

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 File Management
File management is one of the most visible services of an
operating system. Computers can store information in several
different physical forms; magnetic tape, disk, and drum are the
most common forms. Each of these devices has it own
characteristics and physical organization

The operating system abstracts from the physical properties of its

storage devices to define a logical storage unit, the file. Files are
mapped, by the operating system, onto physical devices.
operating system is responsible for the following activities in
connection with file management:
– The creation and deletion of files
– The creation and deletion of directory
– The support of primitives for manipulating files and directories
– The mapping of files onto disk storage.
– Backup of files on stable (non volatile) storage.

Protection System
Various processes in an operating system must be protected from
each other’s activities. For that purpose, various mechanisms
which can be used to ensure that the files, memory segment, CPU
and other resources can be operated on only by those processes
that have gained proper authorization from the operating system

For example, memory addressing hardware ensure that a process

can only execute within its own address space. The timer ensure
that no process can gain control of the CPU without relinquishing
it. Finally, no process is allowed to do it’s own I/O, to protect the
integrity of the various peripheral devices.

Protection refers to a mechanism for controlling the access of

programs, processes, or users to the resources defined by a
computer controls to be imposed, together with some means of
enforcement.

Protection can improve reliability by detecting latent errors at the

interfaces between component subsystems. Early detection of
interface errors can often prevent contamination of a healthy
subsystem by a subsystem that is malfunctioning. An unprotected
resource cannot defend against use (or misuse) by an
unauthorized or incompetent user.

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 Networking
A distributed system is a collection of processors that do not share
memory or a clock. Instead, each processor has its own local
memory, and the processors communicate with each other
through various communication lines, such as high speed buses or
telephone lines. Distributed systems vary in size and function.
They may involve microprocessors, workstations, minicomputers,
and large general purpose computer systems.

The processors in the system are connected through a

communication network, which can be configured in the number
of different ways. The network may be fully or partially connected.
The communication network design must consider routing and
connection strategies, and the problems of connection and
security.

A distributed system provides the user with access to the various

resources the system maintains. Access to a shared resource
allows computation speed-up, data availability, and reliability.

Command Interpreter System

One of the most important component of an operating system is its
command interpreter. The command interpreter is the primary
interface between the user and the rest of the system

Many commands are given to the operating system by control

statements. When a new job is started in a batch system or when
a user logs-in to a time-shared system, a program which reads and
interprets control statements is automatically executed.
This program is variously called :
– the control card interpreter,
– the command line interpreter,
– the shell (in Unix), and so on.

Its function is quite simple: get the next command statement, and
execute it.

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 Q&A
• Any Questions?

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