Operating-System Services &

System Calls
System Services
 Operating System Services
 An operating system executes
programs and makes the process of
solving them easier.
 It also makes the computer system
easier to use and helps the user use
the computer hardware efficiently.
 Apart from these, it also provides an
array of services both to the users and
the programs.
 Services of Operating System

 The OS is the resource manager of a system.

 Thus, there are multiple services it provides in
order to have an efficient system that can utilize
these resources to the fullest.
 Following are the services provided by
operating systems:
1. User Interface
2. Program Execution
3. File System Manipulation
4. I/O Operations
 Services of Operating System
5. Communication systems
6. Resource Allocation
7. Error Detection
8. Accounting
9. Protection and Security
10. Command Interpretation
11. Resource Manager
 1. User Interface

 An interface is required to communicate with the

user.
 Then it can either be a Command Line Interface CLI
or a Graphical User Interface GUI.
 Touchscreen Interfaces

 Touchscreen devices require new

interfaces
• Mouse not possible or not desired
• Actions and selection based on
gestures
• Virtual keyboard for text entry
 Voice commands
 2. Program Execution
 The OS loads a program into memory and then
executes that program.
 It also makes sure that once started that program
can end its execution, either normally or
forcefully.
 The major steps during program management
are:
1. Loading a program into memory.
2. Executing the program.
3. Making sure the program completes its execution.
4. Providing a mechanism for:
1. Process synchronization.
2. Process communication.
3. Deadlock handling.
 3. File System Manipulation
 A program is read and then written in the form of
directories and files.
 These files can be stored on the storage disk for the
long term.
 The OS allows the users to create and delete files,
duplicate these files, and search files and their
information or properties.
 It also does permission management for these files i.e.,
allowing or denying access to these files or directories
based on the file ownership.
 4. I/O Operations

 I/O operations are required during the execution of

a program.
 To maintain efficiency and protection of the
program, users cannot directly govern the I/O
devices instead the OS allows to read or write
operations with any file using the I/O devices and
also allows access to any required I/O device when
required.
 5. Communication systems

 Processes need to swap information among

themselves.
 These processes can be from the same computer
system or different computer systems as long as they
are connected through communication lines in a
network.
 This can be done with the help of OS support using
shared memory or message passing.
 The OS also manages routing, connection strategies,
and the problem of conflict and security.
 6. Resource Allocation

 When multiple users or multiple jobs run on a

system concurrently, the resources need to be
allocated equally to all of them.
 CPU scheduling is used to allocate resources fairly
and for the better utilization of the CPU.
 These resources may include CPU cycles, main
memory storage, file storage, and I/O devices.
 7. Error Detection

 Errors may occur in any of the resources like CPU,

I/O devices, or memory hardware.
 The OS keeps a lookout for such errors, corrects
errors when they occur, and makes sure that the
system works uninterruptedly.
 8. Accounting

 This keeps a check of which resource is being used

by a user and for how long it is being used.
 This is usually done for statistical purposes.
 9. Protection and Security

 This is to ensure the safety of the system.

 Thus, user authentication is required to access a
system.
 It is also necessary to protect a process from
another when multiple processes are running on a
system at the same time.
 The OS controls the access to the resources,
protects the I/O devices from invalid access, and
provides authentication through passwords.
 10. Command Interpretation

 The OS understands and interprets commands

that are input by the user and displays the input
accordingly.
 Multiple command interpreters can be supported by
an OS.
 11. Resource Manager

 The OS manages resources such as processor,

memory, I/O devices etc. efficiently.
 It allocates resources to processes and administers
running programs to ensure user satisfaction.
 It also decides the time at which a program should
run, the amount of memory allocated for execution,
where to save a file, and much more.
A View of Operating System Services
System Calls
 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-level
Application Programming Interface (API) rather
than direct system call use
 Three most common APIs are Win API for Windows,
and Java API for the Java virtual machine (JVM)
 Example of System Calls

 System call sequence to copy the contents of one

file to another file
cp in.txt out.txt
Example of Standard API
 System Call Implementation

 Typically, a number is associated with each system call

• System-call interface maintains a table indexed according to
these numbers
 The system call interface invokes the intended system call in OS
kernel and returns status of the system call and any return values
 The caller need know nothing about how the system call is
implemented
• Just needs to obey API and understand what OS will do as a
result call
• Most details of OS interface hidden from programmer by API
 Managed by run-time support library (set of functions built into
libraries included with compiler)
API – System Call – OS Relationship
 System Call Parameter Passing

 Often, more information is required than simply identity of desired

system call
• Exact type and amount of information vary according to OS and
call
 Three general methods used to pass parameters to the OS
1. Simplest: pass the parameters in registers
1. In some cases, may be more parameters than registers
2. Parameters stored in a block, or table, in memory, and address
of block passed as a parameter in a register
1. This approach taken by Linux and Solaris
3. Parameters placed, or pushed, onto the stack by the program
and popped off the stack by the operating system
Note: Block and stack methods do not limit the number or
length of parameters being passed
Parameter Passing via Table
 Types of System Calls

 Process control
• create process, terminate process
• end, abort
• load, execute
• get process attributes, set process attributes
• wait for time
• wait event, signal event
• allocate and free memory
• Dump memory if error
• Debugger for determining bugs, single step execution
• Locks for managing access to shared data between
processes
 Types of System Calls (Cont.)

 File management
• create file, delete file
• open, close file
• read, write, reposition
• get and set file attributes
 Device management
• request device, release device
• read, write, reposition
• get device attributes, set device attributes
• logically attach or detach devices
 Types of System Calls (Cont.)

 Information maintenance
• get time or date, set time or date
• get system data, set system data
• get and set process, file, or device attributes
 Communications
• create, delete communication connection
• send, receive messages if message passing model to
host name or process name
 From client to server
• Shared-memory model create and gain access to
memory regions
• transfer status information
• attach and detach remote devices
 Types of System Calls (Cont.)

 Protection
• Control access to resources
• Get and set permissions
• Allow and deny user access
Examples of Windows and Unix System Calls