05-10-2012, 03:00 PM
OPERATING SYSTEM CONCEPTS
Operating+System+Concepts.pdf (Size: 585.72 KB / Downloads: 42)
What are the three main purposes of an operating system?
Answer:
• To provide an environment for a computer user to execute programs
on computer hardware in a convenient and efficient manner.
• To allocate the separate resources of the computer as needed to
solve the problem given. The allocation process should be as fair
and efficient as possible.
• As a control program it serves two major functions: (1) supervision
of the execution of user programs to prevent errors and improper
use of the computer, and (2) management of the operation and
control of I/O devices.
What are the main differences between operating systems for mainframe
computers and personal computers?
Answer: Generally, operating systems for batch systems have simpler
requirements than for personal computers. Batch systems do not have
to be concerned with interacting with a user as much as a personal
computer. As a result, an operating system for a PC must be concerned
with response time for an interactive user. Batch systems do not have
such requirements. A pure batch system also may have not to handle
time sharing, whereas an operating system must switch rapidly between
different jobs.
What is the purpose of system calls?
Answer: System calls allow user-level processes to request services of
the operating system.
What are the five major activities of an operating system in regard to
process management?
Answer:
a. The creation and deletion of both user and system processes
b. The suspension and resumption of processes
c. The provision of mechanisms for process synchronization
d. The provision of mechanisms for process communication
e. The provision of mechanisms for deadlock handling
What are the three major activities of an operating system in regard to
memory management?
Answer:
a. Keep track of which parts of memory are currently being used
and by whom.
b. Decide which processes are to be loaded into memory when memory
space becomes available.
c. Allocate and deallocate memory space as needed.
What are the three major activities of an operating system in regard to
secondary-storage management?
Answer:
• Free-space management.
• Storage allocation.
• Disk scheduling.
What is the purpose of the command interpreter? Why is it usually
separate from the kernel?
Answer: It reads commands from the user or from a file of commands
and executes them, usually by turning them into one or more system
calls. It is usually not part of the kernel since the command interpreter
is subject to changes.
What system calls have to be executed by a command interpreter or shell
in order to start a new process?
Answer: In Unix systems, a fork system call followed by an exec system
call need to be performed to start a new process. The fork call clones the
currently executing process, while the exec call overlays a new process
based on a different executable over the calling process.
What is the purpose of system programs?
Answer: System programs can be thought of as bundles of useful
system calls. They provide basic functionality to users so that users do
not need to write their own programs to solve common problems.
What is the main advantage of the layered approach to system design?
What are the disadvantages of using the layered approach?
Answer: As in all cases of modular design, designing an operating
system in a modular way has several advantages. The system is easier
to debug and modify because changes affect only limited sections of
the system rather than touching all sections of the operating system.
Information is kept only where it is needed and is accessible only within
a defined and restricted area, so any bugs affecting that data must be
limited to a specific module or layer.
Operating+System+Concepts.pdf (Size: 585.72 KB / Downloads: 42)
What are the three main purposes of an operating system?
Answer:
• To provide an environment for a computer user to execute programs
on computer hardware in a convenient and efficient manner.
• To allocate the separate resources of the computer as needed to
solve the problem given. The allocation process should be as fair
and efficient as possible.
• As a control program it serves two major functions: (1) supervision
of the execution of user programs to prevent errors and improper
use of the computer, and (2) management of the operation and
control of I/O devices.
What are the main differences between operating systems for mainframe
computers and personal computers?
Answer: Generally, operating systems for batch systems have simpler
requirements than for personal computers. Batch systems do not have
to be concerned with interacting with a user as much as a personal
computer. As a result, an operating system for a PC must be concerned
with response time for an interactive user. Batch systems do not have
such requirements. A pure batch system also may have not to handle
time sharing, whereas an operating system must switch rapidly between
different jobs.
What is the purpose of system calls?
Answer: System calls allow user-level processes to request services of
the operating system.
What are the five major activities of an operating system in regard to
process management?
Answer:
a. The creation and deletion of both user and system processes
b. The suspension and resumption of processes
c. The provision of mechanisms for process synchronization
d. The provision of mechanisms for process communication
e. The provision of mechanisms for deadlock handling
What are the three major activities of an operating system in regard to
memory management?
Answer:
a. Keep track of which parts of memory are currently being used
and by whom.
b. Decide which processes are to be loaded into memory when memory
space becomes available.
c. Allocate and deallocate memory space as needed.
What are the three major activities of an operating system in regard to
secondary-storage management?
Answer:
• Free-space management.
• Storage allocation.
• Disk scheduling.
What is the purpose of the command interpreter? Why is it usually
separate from the kernel?
Answer: It reads commands from the user or from a file of commands
and executes them, usually by turning them into one or more system
calls. It is usually not part of the kernel since the command interpreter
is subject to changes.
What system calls have to be executed by a command interpreter or shell
in order to start a new process?
Answer: In Unix systems, a fork system call followed by an exec system
call need to be performed to start a new process. The fork call clones the
currently executing process, while the exec call overlays a new process
based on a different executable over the calling process.
What is the purpose of system programs?
Answer: System programs can be thought of as bundles of useful
system calls. They provide basic functionality to users so that users do
not need to write their own programs to solve common problems.
What is the main advantage of the layered approach to system design?
What are the disadvantages of using the layered approach?
Answer: As in all cases of modular design, designing an operating
system in a modular way has several advantages. The system is easier
to debug and modify because changes affect only limited sections of
the system rather than touching all sections of the operating system.
Information is kept only where it is needed and is accessible only within
a defined and restricted area, so any bugs affecting that data must be
limited to a specific module or layer.