Basic Operating System Concepts

Each computer system includes a basic set of programs called the operating system.
The most and contains many critical procedures that are needed for the system to
operate. The other programs are called less utilities; they can provide a wide variety
of interactive experiences for the users as well as doing all the jobs the user bought
the computer for, but the essential shape and capabilities of the system are
determined by the kernel.

The kernel provides key facilkitates to everything else on the system and determines
many of the characteristics of higher software.Hence, often use the operating system
as a syncronym for kernel.

The operating system must fulfill two main objectives:

· Interact with the hardware components, servicing all low-level

programmable elements included in the hardware platform.
· Provide an execution environment to the applications that run on the
computer system (the so-called user programs).

Some operating systems allow all user programs to directly play with the hardware
components (a typical example is MS-DOS ). In contrast, a Unix-like operating
system hides all low-level details concerning the physical organization of the
computer from applications run by the user. When a program wants to use a
hardware resource, it must issue a request to the operating system. The kernel
evaluates the request and, if it chooses to grant the resource, interacts with the
proper hardware components on behalf of the user program.

To enforce this mechanism, modern operating systems rely on the availability of

specific hardware features that forbid user programs to directly interact with low-level
hardware components or to access arbitrary memory locations. In particular, the
hardware introduces at least two different execution modes for the CPU: a
nonprivileged mode for user programs and a privileged mode for the kernel. Unix
calls these User Mode and Kernel Mode , respectively.

Advantages of Operating System

 Given below are some advantages of the Operating System:

· The operating system helps to improve the efficiency of the work and helps
to save a lot of time by reducing the complexity.

· The different components of a system are independent of each other, thus

failure of one component does not affect the functioning of another.

· The operating system mainly acts as an interface between the hardware and
the software.

· Users can easily access the hardware without writing large programs.

· With the help of an Operating system, sharing data becomes easier with a
large number of users.

· We can easily install any game or application on the Operating system easily
and can run them

· An operating system can be refreshed easily from time to time without

having any problems.

· An operating system can be updated easily.

· There are various operating systems that are accessible in open source.
Example: Unix/Linux these can easily run on the personal computer with no cost
that means Free.

· An operating system is mainly used to hide the complexity of the hardware.

· AN operating system easily manages the computer as programming becomes

easier.

· With the help of an operating system, multitasking becomes easier.

Disadvantages of an Operating system

Given below are the drawbacks of using an operating system:

· Expensive There are some open-source platforms like Linux. But some
operating systems are expensive. Also, users can use free operating systems
but generally, there is a bit difficulty to run them than others. On the other hand,
operating systems like Microsoft Windows having GUI functionality and other
in-built features are very expensive.

· Virus Threat Operating Systems are open to virus attacks and sometimes it
happens that many users download the malicious software packages on their
system which pauses the functioning of the Operating system and also slows it
down.

· Complexity Some operating systems are complex in nature

because the language used to establish them is not clear and well
defined. If there occurs an issue in the operating system then the user
becomes unable to resolve that issue.

· System Failure An operating system is the heart of the computer system if

due to any reason it will stop functioning then the whole system will crashes.

v OPERATING SYSTEM SERVICES

· 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.

Types of operating system services

One set of operating system provides functions that are helpful to the user

· User interface
· Program execution

· I/O operations

· File System manipulation

· Communication

· Error Detection

Another set of operating system functions exixtex not for helping the user but rather for
ensuring the efficient operation of thee system itself.Systems with multiple users can
gain efficiency by sharing the computer resources among the user

· Resource Allocation

· Accounting

· Protection and security

User Interface:
All operating system have user interface has several forms

· Command line interface(CLI) uses text commands and a method

for entering them(KB for typing in commands in a specific format with
specific options)

· Another is a batch interface , in which commands and directives to control

those commands are entered into files, and those files are executed.

· Most commonly, a graphical user interface is used.

· Here, the interface is a window system with a pointing device to direct I/O,
choose from menus and make selections and a keyboard to enter text.

· One systems provide two or all three of these variations.

 Program execution:

· 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.

· I/O Operation

· 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.

I/O Operations:
· A running program may require I/O, which may involve a file or an I/O device
· For specific devices, special functions may be desired(such as recording a
CD or DVD device or blanking a display screen)

· For efficiency and protection, users usually cannot control I/O devices directly.

· Therefore the operating system must provide a means to do I/O.

File system manipulation:

· A file represents a collection of related information. Computers can store

files on the disk (secondary storage), for long-term storage purpose. Examples
of storage media include 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, the operating
system manages communications between all the processes. Multiple
 processes communicate with one another through communication lines
in the network.

· The 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

· Both the processes can be on one computer or on different computers, but

are connected through a computer network.

· Communication may be implemented by two methods, either by Shared

Memory or by Message Passing.

Error Detection:

· Errors can occur anytime and anywhere. An 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 −

· The OS constantly checks for possible errors.

· The OS takes an 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 −

· The OS manages all kinds of resources using schedulers.

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

Resource Allocation:
 · When there are multiple users or multiple jobs running at the
same time, resources must be allocated to each of them.

· Many different types of resources are managed by the operating

system.

· Some (Such as CPU cycles, main memory and file storage )

may have special allocation code, whereas others(such as I/O
devices) may have much more general request and release code.
· For instance , in determining how best to use the CPU ,
operating systems have cpu scheduling routines that take into
account the speed of the cpu , the jobs that must be executed, the
number of registers available and other factors.

· There may also routines to allocate printers, modems, usb

storage drives and other periphera devices.

Accounting:
· It keep track of which user use how much and what kind of computer resources.

· This record keeping may be used for accounting or simply for accumulating
usage statistics may be a valuable tool for researchers who wish to reconfigure
the system to improve computing services.

Protection and Security:

· The owners of information stored in a multi user or networked
computer system may want to control use of that information.

· When several separate processes execute concurrently, it should not be

possible for one process to interfere with the others or with the operating system
itself.

· Protection involves ensuring that all access to system resources is controlled.

· Security of the system from outsiders is also important. Such security starts
with requiring each user to authenticate to the system, usually by means of
password, go gain access to system resources.
· It extends to defending external I/O devices, including modems and network
adapters, from invalid access attempts and to recording all such connections for
detection of break-ins.

· If a system is to be protected and secure, precautions must be instituted

throughout it.