Operating systems Interview Question and Answers

Question 1. Explain The Main Purpose Of An Operating

System?
Answer :
Operating systems exist for two main purposes. One is that it
is designed to make sure a computer system performs well
by managing its computational activities. Another is that it
provides an environment for the development and execution
of programs.
Question 2. What Is Demand Paging?
Answer :
Demand paging is referred when not all of a process’s pages
are in the RAM, then the OS brings the missing(and required)
pages from the disk into the RAM.
Question 3. What Are The Advantages Of A Multiprocessor
System?
Answer :
With an increased number of processors, there is
considerable increase in throughput. It can also save more
money because they can share resources. Finally, overall
reliability is increased as well.
Question 4. What Is Kernel?
Answer :
Kernel is the core of every operating system. It connects
applications to the actual processing of data. It also manages
all communications between software and hardware
components to ensure usability and reliability.
Question 5. What Are Real-time Systems?
Answer :
Real-time systems are used when rigid time requirements
have been placed on the operation of a processor. It has well
defined and fixed time constraints.
Question 6. What Is Virtual Memory?
Answer :
Virtual memory is a memory management technique for
letting processes execute outside of memory. This is very
useful especially is an executing program cannot fit in the
physical memory.
Question 7. Describe The Objective Of Multi Programming.?
Answer :
The main objective of multiprogramming is to have process
running at all times. With this design, CPU utilization is said
to be maximized.
Oracle DBA Tutorial Application Software Interview
Questions
Question 8. What Are Time Sharing Systems?
Answer :
In a Time sharing system, the CPU executes multiple jobs by
switching among them, also known as multitasking. This
process happens so fast that users can actually interact with
each program while it is running.
Question 9. What Is Smp?
Answer :
SMP is short for Symmetric MultiProcessing, and is the most
common type of multiple-processor systems. In this system,
each processor runs an identical copy of the operating
system, and these copies communicate with one another as
needed.
Question 10. How Are Server Systems Classified?
Answer :
Server systems can be classified as either computer-server
systems or file server systems. In the first case, an interface is
made available for clients to send requests to perform an
action. In the second case, provisions are available for clients
to create, access and update files.
Question 11. What Is Asymmetric Clustering?
Answer :
In asymmetric clustering, a machine is in a state known as
hot standby mode where it does nothing but to monitor the
active server. That machine takes the active server’s role
should the server fails.
Question 12. What Is A Thread?
Answer :
A thread is a basic unit of CPU utilization. In general, a thread
is composed of a thread ID, program counter, register set and
the stack.
Question 13. Give Some Benefits Of Multi Threaded
Programming.?
Answer :
o there is an increased responsiveness to the user
o resource sharing within the process
o economy
o utilization of multiprocessing architecture
Question 14. Briefly Explain Fcfs.
Answer :
FCFS is short for First-come, first-served, and is one type of
scheduling algorithm. In this scheme, the process that
requests the CPU first is allocated the CPU first.
Implementation is managed by a FIFO queue.
Question 15. What Is Rr Scheduling Algorithm?
Answer :
RR (round-robin) scheduling algorithm is primarily aimed for
time-sharing systems. A circular queue is setup in such a way
that the CPU scheduler goes around that queue, allocating
CPU to each process for a time interval of up to around 10 to
100 milliseconds.
Question 16. What Necessary Conditions Can Lead To A
Deadlock Situation In A System?
Answer :
Deadlock situations occur when four conditions occur
simultaneously in a system: Mutual exclusion; Hold and Wait;
No preemption; and Circular wait.
Question 17. Enumerate The Different Raid Levels.
Answer :
o RAID 0 – Non-redundant striping
o RAID 1 – Mirrored Disks
o RAID 2 – Memory-style error-correcting codes
o RAID 3 – Bit-interleaved Parity
o RAID 4 – Block-interleaved Parity
o RAID 5 – Block-interleaved distributed Parity
o RAID 6 – P+Q Redundancy
Question 18. What Factors Determine Whether A Detection-
algorithm Must Be Utilized In A Deadlock Avoidance
System?
Answer :
One is that it depends on how often a deadlock is likely to
occur under the implementation of this algorithm. The other
has to do with how many processes will be affected by
deadlock when this algorithm is applied.
Question 19. Differentiate Logical From Physical Address
Space.?
Answer :
Logical address refers to the address that is generated by the
CPU. On the other hand, physical address refers to the
address that is seen by the memory unit.
Question 20. How Does Dynamic Loading Aid In Better
Memory Space Utilization?
Answer :
With dynamic loading, a routine is not loaded until it is called.
This method is especially useful when large amounts of code
are needed in order to handle infrequently occurring cases
such as error routines.
Question 21. What Are Overlays?
Answer :
Overlays are used to enable a process to be larger than the
amount of memory allocated to it. The basic idea of this is
that only instructions and data that are needed at any given
time are kept in memory.
Question 22. What Is The Basic Function Of Paging?
Answer :
Paging is a memory management scheme that permits the
physical-address space of a process to be noncontiguous. It
avoids the considerable problem of having to fit varied sized
memory chunks onto the backing store.
Question 23. What Is Fragmentation?
Answer :
Fragmentation is memory wasted. It can be internal if we are
dealing with systems that have fixed-sized allocation units, or
external if we are dealing with systems that have variable-
sized allocation units.
Question 24. How Does Swapping Result In Better Memory
Management?
Answer :
During regular intervals that are set by the operating system,
processes can be copied from main memory to a backing
store, and then copied back later. Swapping allows more
processes to be run that can fit into memory at one time.
Question 25. Give An Example Of A Process State.
Answer :
New State – means a process is being created
Running – means instructions are being executed
Waiting – means a process is waiting for certain conditions or
events to occur
Ready – means a process is waiting for an instruction from
the main processor
Terminate – means a process is done executing
Question 26. What Is A Socket?
Answer :
A socket provides a connection between two applications.
Each endpoint of a communication is a socket.
Question 27. What Is Direct Access Method?
Answer :
Direct Access method is based on a disk model of a file, such
that it is viewed as a numbered sequence of blocks or
records. It allows arbitrary blocks to be read or written.
Direct access is advantageous when accessing large amounts
of information.
Question 28. When Does Thrashing Occur?
Answer :
Thrashing refers to an instance of high paging activity. This
happens when it is spending more time paging instead of
executing.
Question 29. What Is The Best Page Size When Designing An
Operating System?
Answer :
The best paging size varies from system to system, so there is
no single best when it comes to page size. There are different
factors to consider in order to come up with a suitable page
size, such as page table, paging time, and its effect on the
overall efficiency of the operating system.
Question 30. When Designing The File Structure For An
Operating System, What Attributes Are Considered?
Answer :
Typically, the different attributes for a file structure are
naming, identifier, supported file types, and location for the
files, size, and level of protection.
Question 31. What Is Root Partition?
Answer :
Root partition is where the operating system kernel is
located. It also contains other potentially important system
files that are mounted during boot time.
Question 32. What Are Device Drivers?
Answer :
Device drivers provides a standard means of representing I/O
devices that maybe manufactured by different companies.
This prevents conflicts whenever such devices are
incorporated in a systems unit.
Question 33. What Are The Primary Functions Of Vfs?
Answer :
VFS, or Virtual File System, separates file system generic
operations from their implementation by defining a clean VFS
interface. It is also based on a file-representation structure
known as vnode, which contains a numerical designator
needed to support network file systems.
Question 34. What Are The Different Types Of Cpu Registers
In A Typical Operating System Design?
Answer :
o Accumulators
o Index Registers
o Stack Pointer
o General Purpose Registers
35. Question 35. What Is The Purpose Of An I/o Status
Information?
Answer :
I/O status information provides info about which I/O devices
are to be allocated for a particular process. It also shows
which files are opened, and other I/O device state.
Question 36. What Is Multitasking?
Answer :
Multitasking is the process within an operating system that
allows the user to run several applications at the same time.
However, only one application is active at a time for user
interaction, although some applications can run “behind the
scene”.
Question 37. What Are Some Pros And Cons Of A Command
Line Interface?
Answer :
A command line interface allows the user to type in
commands that can immediately provide results. Many
seasoned computer users are well accustomed to using the
command line because they find it quicker and simpler. The
main problem with a command line interface is that users
have to be familiar with the commands, including the
switches and parameters that come with it. This is a
downside for people who are not fond of memorizing
commands.
Question 38. What Is Caching?
Answer :
Caching is the processing of utilizing a region of fast memory
for a limited data and process. A cache memory is usually
much efficient because of its high access speed.
Question 39. What Is Spooling?
Answer :
Spooling is normally associated with printing. When different
applications want to send an output to the printer at the
same time, spooling takes all of these print jobs into a disk
file and queues them accordingly to the printer.
Question 40. What Is An Assembler?
Answer :
An assembler acts as a translator for low level language.
Assembly codes, written using mnemonic commands are
translated by the Assembler into machine language.
Question 41. What Are Interrupts?
Answer :
Interrupts are part of a hardware mechanism that sends a
notification to the CPU when it wants to gain access to a
particular resource. An interrupt handler receives this
interrupt signal and “tells” the processor to take action based
on the interrupt request.
Question 42. What Is Gui?
Answer :
GUI is short for Graphical User Interface. It provides users
with an interface wherein actions can be performed by
interacting with icons and graphical symbols. People find it
easier to interact with the computer when in a GUI especially
when using the mouse. Instead of having to remember and
type commands, users just click on buttons to perform a
process.
Question 43. What Is Preemptive Multitasking?
Answer :
Preemptive multitasking allows an operating system to
switch between software programs. This in turn allows
multiple programs to run without necessarily taking
complete control over the processor and resulting in system
crashes.
Question 44. Why Is Partitioning And Formatting A
Prerequisite To Installing An Operating System?
Answer :
Partitioning and formatting creates a preparatory
environment on the drive so that the operating system can
be copied and installed properly. This includes allocating
space on the drive, designating a drive name, determining
and creating the appropriate file system structure.
Question 45. What Is Plumbing / Piping?
Answer :
It is the process of using the output of one program as an
input to another. For example, instead of sending the listing
of a folder or drive to the main screen, it can be piped and
sent to a file, or sent to the printer to produce a hard copy.
Question 46. What Is Nos?
Answer :
NOS is short for Network Operating System. It is a specialized
software that will allow a computer to communicate with
other devices over the network, including file/folder sharing.
Question 47. Differentiate Internal Commands From
External Commands.
Answer :
o Internal commands are built-in commands that are
already part of the operating system.
o External commands are separate file programs that are
stored in a separate folder or directory.
Question 48. How Would A File Named Examplefile.txt
Appear When Viewed Under The Dos Command Console
Operating In Windows 98?
Answer :
The filename would appear as EXAMPL~1.TXT . The reason
behind this is that filenames under this operating system is
limited to 8 characters when working under DOS
environment.
Question 49. What Is A Folder In Ubuntu ?
Answer :
There is no concept of Folder in Ubuntu. Everything including
your hardware is a FILE.
Question 50. Explain What Is The Meaning Of “export”
Command In Ubuntu?
Answer :
Export is a command in Bash shell language, when you try to
set a variable, it is visible or exported to any subprocess
started from that instance of bash. The variable will not exist
in the sub-process without the export command.
Question 51. Explain How You Can Reset Unity
Configuration?
Answer :
To reset the unity configuration the simplest way to do is to
hit open a Terminal or hit Atl-F2 and run the command #
unity –reset.
Question 52. Explain How To Access Terminal?
Answer :
To access terminal , you have to go under Application Menu -
> Accessories -> Terminal .
Question 53. What Are Turnaround Time And Response
Time?
Answer :
Turnaround time is the interval between the submission of a
job and its completion. Response time is the interval
between submission of a request, and the first response to
that request.
Question 54. What Are The Typical Elements Of A Process
Image?
Answer :
User data: Modifiable part of user space. May include
program data, user stack area, and programs that may be
modified.
User program: The instructions to be executed.
System Stack: Each process has one or more LIFO stacks
associated with it. Used to store parameters and calling
addresses for procedure and system calls.
Process control Block (PCB): Info needed by the OS to control
processes.
Question 55. What Is The Translation Lookaside Buffer (tlb)?
Answer :
In a cached system, the base addresses of the last few
referenced pages is maintained in registers called the TLB
that aids in faster lookup. TLB contains those page-table
entries that have been most recently used. Normally, each
virtual memory reference causes 2 physical memory
accesses- one to fetch appropriate page-table entry, and one
to fetch the desired data. Using TLB in-between, this is
reduced to just one physical memory access in cases of TLB-
hit.
Question 56. What Is The Resident Set And Working Set Of
A Process?
Answer :
Resident set is that portion of the process image that is
actually in real-memory at a particular instant. Working set is
that subset of resident set that is actually needed for
execution. (Relate this to the variable-window size method
for swapping techniques.)
Question 57. When Is A System In Safe State?
Answer :
The set of dispatchable processes is in a safe state if there
exists at least one temporal order in which all processes can
be run to completion without resulting in a deadlock.
Question 58. What Is Cycle Stealing?
Answer :
We encounter cycle stealing in the context of Direct Memory
Access (DMA). Either the DMA controller can use the data
bus when the CPU does not need it, or it may force the CPU
to temporarily suspend operation. The latter technique is
called cycle stealing. Note that cycle stealing can be done
only at specific break points in an instruction cycle.
Question 59. When Does The Condition 'rendezvous' Arise?
Answer :
In message passing, it is the condition in which, both, the
sender and receiver are blocked until the message is
delivered.
Question 60. What Is A Trap And Trapdoor?
Answer :
Trapdoor is a secret undocumented entry point into a
program used to grant access without normal methods of
access authentication. A trap is a software interrupt, usually
the result of an error condition.