OPERATING

SYSTEMS

OS
Lesson 2: OS STRUCTURES
Nguyễn Thị Hậu (UET-VNU)
[email protected]

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CONTENTS
•  Operating System Services
•  User and Operating System-Interface
•  System Calls
•  System Services

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•  Operating System Structure

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Operating System Services

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User Operating System Interface
•  Command Interpreter - CI

•  Graphical User Interface - GUI

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•  Aero : Window Vista/Window
7/8/10
•  Aqua: MacOS X
•  Common desktop environment
(CDE): Unix, Linux OpenVMS
•  K desktop environment (KDE):
Unix
•  GNOME desktop (GNOME) :
Ubuntu
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Touchscreen Interfaces

•  Touchscreen devices require

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System Calls
•  Programming interface to the services
provided by the OS
•  Typically written in a high-level
language (C or C++)
•  Mostly accessed by programs via a high-

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l e v e l A p p l i c a t i o n P r o g r a m m i n g
Interface (API) rather than direct
system call use
•  Three most common APIs are Win32
API for Windows, POSIX API for POSIX-
based systems (including virtually all
versions of UNIX, Linux, and Mac OS X),
and Java API for the Java virtual
machine (JVM)
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Examples of Windows, Unix System Calls

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An example of standard API

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System Services
•  System programs provide a convenient environment for
program development and execution. They can be divided
into:
•  File manipulation
•  Status information sometimes stored in a file
•  Programming language support

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•  Program loading and execution
•  Communications
•  Background services
•  Application programs
•  Most users’ view of the operation system is defined by
system programs, not the actual system calls
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The Role of the Linker and Loader

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OPERATING SYSTEM STRUCTURE

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Simple structure – MS-DOS
More complex -- UNIX
Layered – an abstraction
Microkernel -Mach

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Simple Structure – MS-DOS

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Traditional UNIX System Structure
Beyond simple but not fully layered

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 Layered Approach
•  The operating system is
divided into a number of
layers (levels), each built
on top of lower layers.
The bottom layer (layer

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0), is the hardware; the
highest (layer N) is the
user interface.
•  With modularity, layers
are selected such that
each uses functions
(operations) and services
of only lower-level layers 14
Microkernels
•  Moves as much from the kernel into user space
•  Mach example of microkernel
•  Mac OS X kernel (Darwin) partly based on Mach
•  Communication takes place between user modules
using message passing
•  Benefits:

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•  Easier to extend a microkernel
•  Easier to port the operating system to new
architectures
•  More reliable (less code is running in kernel mode)
•  More secure
•  Detriments:
•  Performance overhead of user space to kernel space 15
communication
Microkernel System Structure

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Linux System Structure
Monolithic plus modular design

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Hybrid Systems
•  Most modern operating systems are actually not one pure
model
•  Hybrid combines multiple approaches to address
performance, security, usability needs
•  Linux and Solaris kernels in kernel address space, so
monolithic, plus modular for dynamic loading of functionality

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•  Windows mostly monolithic, plus microkernel for different
subsystem personalities
•  Apple Mac OS X hybrid, layered, Aqua UI plus Cocoa
programming environment
•  Below is kernel consisting of Mach microkernel and BSD
Unix parts, plus I/O kit and dynamically loadable modules
(called kernel extensions)
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macOS and iOS Structure

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Darwin

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Android Architecture

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VIRTUAL MACHINE

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Vmware architecture

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Java Virtual Machine

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Homework
•  Programming:
•  Creating Kernel Modules, Loading and Removing Kernel Modules,
(Chapter 2, Operating System Concept, Silberschatz et al., 9th
edition, 2013 page 96-99)

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•  Revising:
•  Binary, octal, decimal, hex numbers
•  bit, byte, KB, MB, GB, TB, PB, EB, YB, ZB
•  Mbps, Gbps, …

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Thank you!

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Q&A

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