An operating System (OS) is an intermediary between users and computer

hardware. It provides users an environment in which a user can execute programs

conveniently and efficiently.

In technical terms, It is a software which manages hardware. An operating System

controls the allocation of resources and services such as memory, processors,
devices and information.

Definition
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

Memory Management
Memory management refers to management of Primary Memory or Main
Memory. Main memory is a large array of words or bytes where each word or
byte has its own address.

Main memory provides a fast storage that can be access directly by the CPU. So
for a program to be executed, it must in the main memory. Operating System does
the following activities for memory management.

 Keeps tracks of primary memory i.e. what part of it are in use by whom,
what part are not in use.

 In multiprogramming, OS decides which process will get memory when and

how much.

 Allocates the memory when the process requests it to do so.

 De-allocates the memory when the process no longer needs it or has been
terminated.

Processor Management
In multiprogramming environment, OS decides which process gets the processor
when and how much time. This function is called process scheduling. Operating
System does the following activities for processor management.

 Keeps tracks of processor and status of process. Program responsible for

this task is known as traffic controller.

 Allocates the processor(CPU) to a process.

 De-allocates processor when processor is no longer required.

Device Management
OS manages device communication via their respective drivers. Operating System
does the following activities for device management.

 Keeps tracks of all devices. Program responsible for this task is known as
the I/O controller.

 Decides which process gets the device when and for how much time.

 Allocates the device in the efficient way.

 De-allocates devices.

File Management
A file system is normally organized into directories for easy navigation and usage.
These directories may contain files and other directions. 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.

Other Important Activities

Following are some of the important activities that Operating System does.

 Security -- By means of password and similar other techniques, preventing

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 softwares and users -- Coordination and

assignment of compilers, interpreters, assemblers and other software to the
various users of the computer systems.

OS Services:

An Operating System provides services to both the users and to the programs.

 It provides programs, an environment to execute.

 It provides users, services to execute the programs in a convenient manner.

Following are few common services provided by operating systems.

 Program execution

 I/O operations

 File System manipulation

 Communication

 Error Detection

 Resource Allocation

 Protection

Program execution
Operating system handles 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.

I/O Operation
I/O subsystem comprised of I/O devices and their corresponding driver software.
Drivers hides the peculiarities of specific hardware devices from the user as the
device driver knows the peculiarities of the specific device.

Operating System manages the communication between user and device drivers.
Following are the major activities of an operating system with respect to I/O
Operation.

 I/O operation means read or write operation with any file or any specific I/O
device.

 Program may require any I/O device while running.

 Operating system provides the access to the required I/O device when
required.

File system manipulation

A file represents a collection of related information. Computer can store files on
the disk (secondary storage), for long term storage purpose. Few examples of
storage media are magnetic tape, magnetic disk and optical disk drives like CD,
DVD. Each of these media has its own properties like speed, capacity, data
transfer rate and data access methods.

A file system is normally organized into directories for easy navigation and usage.
These directories may contain files and other directions. Following are the major
activities of an operating system with respect to file management.

 Program needs to read a file or write a file.

  The operating system gives the permission to the program for operation on
file.

 Permission varies from read-only, read-write, denied and so on.

 Operating System provides an interface to the user to create/delete files.

 Operating System provides an interface to the user to create/delete

directories.

 Operating System provides an interface to create the backup of file system.

Communication
In case of distributed systems which are a collection of processors that do not
share memory, peripheral devices, or a clock, operating system manages
communications between processes. Multiple processes with one another through
communication lines in the network.

OS handles routing and connection strategies, and the problems of contention and
security. Following are the major activities of an operating system with respect to
communication.

 Two processes often require data to be transferred between them.

 The both processes can be on the one computer or on different computer but
are connected through computer network.

 Communication may be implemented by two methods either by Shared

Memory or by Message Passing.

Error handling
Error can occur anytime and anywhere. Error may occur in CPU, in I/O devices or
in the memory hardware. Following are the major activities of an operating
system with respect to error handling.

 OS constantly remains aware of possible errors.

 OS takes the appropriate action to ensure correct and consistent computing.

Resource Management
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.

 OS manages all kind of resources using schedulers.

 CPU scheduling algorithms are used for better utilization of CPU.

Protection
Considering a computer systems having multiple users the concurrent execution
of multiple processes, then the various processes must be protected from each
another's activities.

Protection refers to mechanism or a way to control the access of programs,

processes, or users to the resources defined by a computer systems. Following are
the major activities of an operating system with respect to protection.

 OS ensures that all access to system resources is controlled.

 OS ensures that external I/O devices are protected from invalid access
attempts.

 OS provides authentication feature for each user by means of a password.

Types of Operating System

Operating systems are there from the very first computer generation. Operating
systems keep evolving over the period of time. Following are few of the important
types of operating system which are most commonly used.

Batch operating system

The users of 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. Thus, the programmers left their programs
with the operator. The operator then sorts programs into batches with similar
requirements.

The problems with Batch Systems are following.

 Lack of interaction between the user and job.

 CPU is often idle, because the speeds of the mechanical I/O devices is
slower than CPU.

 Difficult to provide the desired priority.

Time-sharing operating systems

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, objective is to
maximize processor use, whereas in Time-Sharing Systems 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 receives an immediate response.
For example, in a transaction processing, processor execute each user program in
a short burst or quantum of computation. That is if n users are present, each user
can get time quantum. When the user submits the command, the response time is
in few seconds at most.

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 following

 Provide advantage of quick response.

 Avoids duplication of software.

  Reduces CPU idle time.

Disadvantages of Timesharing operating systems are following.

 Problem of reliability.

 Question of security and integrity of user programs and data.

 Problem of data communication.

Distributed operating System

Distributed systems use multiple central processors to serve multiple real time
application and multiple users. Data processing jobs are distributed among the
processors accordingly to which one can perform each job most efficiently.

The processors communicate with one another through various communication

lines (such as high-speed buses or telephone lines). These are referred as loosely
coupled systems or distributed systems. Processors in a distributed system may
vary in size and function. These processors are referred as sites, nodes, computers
and so on.

The advantages of distributed systems are following.

 With resource sharing facility user at one site may be able to use the
resources available at another.

 Speedup the exchange of data with one another via electronic mail.

 If one site fails in a distributed system, the remaining sites can potentially
continue operating.

 Better service to the customers.

 Reduction of the load on the host computer.

 Reduction of delays in data processing.

Network operating System

Network Operating System runs on a server and and provides server the capability
to manage data, users, groups, security, applications, and other networking
functions. The primary purpose of the network operating system is to allow shared
file and printer access among multiple computers in a network, typically a local
area network (LAN), a private network or to other networks. Examples of network
operating systems are Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Windows
Server 2008, UNIX, Linux, Mac OS X, Novell NetWare, and BSD.

The advantages of network operating systems are following.

 Centralized servers are highly stable.

 Security is server managed.

 Upgrades to new technologies and hardwares can be easily integrated into

the system.

 Remote access to servers is possible from different locations and types of

systems.

The disadvantages of network operating systems are following.

 High cost of buying and running a server.

 Dependency on a central location for most operations.

 Regular maintenance and updates are required.

Real Time operating System

Real time system is defines 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. Real time processing is always on line whereas on line system need
not be real time. The time taken by the system to respond to an input and display
of required updated information is termed as response time. So in this method
response time is very less as compared to the 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. Real-time operating system has well-
defined, fixed time constraints otherwise system will fail.For example Scientific
experiments, medical imaging systems, industrial control systems, weapon
systems, robots, and home-applicance controllers, Air traffic control system etc.

There are two types of real-time operating systems.

Hard real-time systems

Hard real-time systems guarantee that critical tasks complete on time. In hard real-
time systems secondary storage is limited or missing with data stored in ROM. In
these systems virtual memory is almost never found.

Soft real-time systems

Soft real time systems are less restrictive. 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.

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