Operating System (OS) is Software that facilitates computer

software to communicate and operate computer hardware with

the computer software. An operating system acts as a GUI
between the User and the computer System. In Other words, an
OS acts as an intermediary between the user and the computer
hardware, managing resources such as memory, processing
power, and input/output operations. Here some examples of
popular operating systems include Windows, MacOS, Linux,
Android etc.

Operating System Interview Questions

Basics OS Interview Questions

1. What is a process and process table?

A process is an instance of a program in execution. For example,
a Web Browser is a process, and a shell (or command prompt) is
a process. The operating system is responsible for managing all
the processes that are running on a computer and allocates each
process a certain amount of time to use the processor. In
addition, the operating system also allocates various other
resources that processes will need, such as computer memory or
disks. To keep track of the state of all the processes, the
operating system maintains a table known as the process table.
Inside this table, every process is listed along with the resources
the process is using and the current state of the process
2. What are the different states of the process?
Processes can be in one of three states: running, ready, or
waiting. The running state means that the process has all the
resources it needs for execution and it has been given
permission by the operating system to use the processor. Only
one process can be in the running state at any given time. The
remaining processes are either in a waiting state (i.e., waiting for
some external event to occur such as user input or disk access)
or a ready state (i.e., waiting for permission to use the processor).
In a real operating system, the waiting and ready states are
implemented as queues that hold the processes in these states.

3. What is a Thread?
A thread is a single sequence stream within a process. Because
threads have some of the properties of processes, they are
sometimes called lightweight processes. Threads are a popular
way to improve the application through parallelism. For
example, in a browser, multiple tabs can be different threads.
MS Word uses multiple threads, one thread to format the text,
another thread to process inputs, etc.

4. What are the differences between process and thread?

Threads are lightweight processes that share the same address
space including the code section, data section and operating
system resources such as the open files and signals. However,
each thread has its own program counter (PC), register set and
stack space allowing them to the execute independently within
the same process context. Unlike processes, threads are not fully
independent entities and can communicate and synchronize
more efficiently making them suitable for the concurrent and
parallel execution in the multi-threaded environment.

5. What are the benefits of multithreaded programming?

It makes the system more responsive and enables resource
sharing. It leads to the use of multiprocess architecture. It is
more economical and preferred.

6. What is Thrashing?
Thrashing is a situation when the performance of a computer
degrades or collapses. Thrashing occurs when a system spends
more time processing page faults than executing transactions.
While processing page faults is necessary in order to appreciate
the benefits of virtual memory, thrashing has a negative effect
on the system. As the page fault rate increases, more
transactions need processing from the paging device. The queue
at the paging device increases, resulting in increased service
time for a page fault.
7. What is Buffer?
A buffer is a memory area that stores data being transferred
between two devices or between a device and an application.

8. What is virtual memory?

Virtual memory creates an illusion that each user has one or
more contiguous address spaces, each beginning at address zero.
The sizes of such virtual address spaces are generally very
high. The idea of virtual memory is to use disk space to extend
the RAM. Running processes don’t need to care whether the
memory is from RAM or disk. The illusion of such a large
amount of memory is created by subdividing the virtual memory
into smaller pieces, which can be loaded into physical memory
whenever they are needed by a process.

9. Explain the main purpose of an operating system?

An operating system acts as an intermediary between the user of
a computer and computer hardware. The purpose of an operating
system is to provide an environment in which a user can execute
programs conveniently and efficiently.
An operating system is a software that manages computer
hardware. The hardware must provide appropriate mechanisms
to ensure the correct operation of the computer system and to
prevent user programs from interfering with the proper
operation of the system.
10. What is demand paging?
The process of loading the page into memory on demand
(whenever a page fault occurs) is known as demand paging.

11. What is a kernel?

A kernel is the central component of an operating system that
manages the operations of computers and hardware. It basically
manages operations of memory and CPU time. It is a core
component of an operating system. Kernel acts as a bridge
between applications and data processing performed at the
hardware level using inter-process communication and system
calls.

12. What are the different scheduling algorithms?

First-Come, First-Served (FCFS) Scheduling.
Shortest-Job-Next (SJN) Scheduling.
Priority Scheduling.
Shortest Remaining Time.
Round Robin(RR) Scheduling.
Multiple-Level Queues Scheduling.

13. Describe the objective of multi-programming.

Multi-programming increases CPU utilization by organizing
jobs (code and data) so that the CPU always has one to execute.
The main objective of multi-programming is to keep multiple
jobs in the main memory. If one job gets occupied with IO, the
CPU can be assigned to other jobs.

14. What is the time-sharing system?

Time-sharing is a logical extension of multiprogramming. The
CPU performs many tasks by switches that are so frequent that
the user can interact with each program while it is running. A
time-shared operating system allows multiple users to share
computers simultaneously.

15. What problem we face in computer system without OS?

Poor resource management
Lack of User Interface
No File System
No Networking
Error handling is big issue
etc.

16. Give some benefits of multithreaded programming?

A thread is also known as a lightweight process. The idea is to
achieve parallelism by dividing a process into multiple threads.
Threads within the same process run in shared memory space,
17. Briefly explain FCFS.
FCFS stands for First Come First served. In the FCFS
scheduling algorithm, the job that arrived first in the ready
queue is allocated to the CPU and then the job that came second
and so on. FCFS is a non-preemptive scheduling algorithm as a
process that holds the CPU until it either terminates or performs
I/O. Thus, if a longer job has been assigned to the CPU then
many shorter jobs after it will have to wait

18. What is the RR scheduling algorithm?

A round-robin scheduling algorithm is used to schedule the
process fairly for each job in a time slot or quantum and
interrupting the job if it is not completed by then the job comes
after the other job which is arrived in the quantum time makes
these scheduling fairly.
Round-robin is cyclic in nature, so starvation doesn’t occur
Round-robin is a variant of first-come, first-served scheduling
No priority or special importance is given to any process or task
RR scheduling is also known as Time slicing scheduling

19. Enumerate the different RAID levels?

A redundant array of independent disks is a set of several
physical disk drives that the operating system sees as a single
logical unit. It played a significant role in narrowing the gap
between increasingly fast processors and slow disk drives.
RAID has different levels:
Level-0
Level-1
Level-2
Level-3
Level-4
Level-5
Level-6

20. What is Banker’s algorithm?

The banker’s algorithm is a resource allocation and deadlock
avoidance algorithm that tests for safety by simulating the
allocation for the predetermined maximum possible amounts of
all resources, then makes an “s-state” check to test for possible
activities, before deciding whether allocation should be allowed
to continue.
21. State the main difference between logical and physical
address space?

Parameter LOGICAL ADDRESS PHYSICAL ADDRESS

location in a memory
Basic generated by the CPU.
unit.

Logical Address
Physical Address is a set
Space is a set of all
of all physical addresses
Address logical addresses
mapped to the
Space generated by the CPU
corresponding logical
in reference to a
addresses.
program.

Users can view the Users can never view

Visibility logical address of a the physical address of
program. the program.

Generation generated by the CPU. Computed by MMU.

The user can use the The user can indirectly

logical address to access physical
Access
access the physical addresses but not
address. directly.
22. How does dynamic loading aid in better memory space
utilization?
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.

23. What are overlays?

The concept of overlays is that whenever a process is running it
will not use the complete program at the same time, it will use
only some part of it. Then overlay concept says that whatever
part you required, you load it and once the part is done, then you
just unload it, which means just pull it back and get the new part
you required and run it. Formally, “The process of transferring a
block of program code or other data into internal memory,
replacing what is already stored”.

24. What is fragmentation?

Processes are stored and removed from memory, which makes
free memory space, which is too little to even consider utilizing
by different processes. Suppose, that process is not ready to
dispense to memory blocks since its little size and memory
hinder consistently staying unused is called fragmentation. This
kind of issue occurs during a dynamic memory allotment
framework when free blocks are small, so it can’t satisfy any
request.

25. What is the basic function of paging?

Paging is a method or technique which is used for non-
contiguous memory allocation. It is a fixed-size partitioning
theme (scheme). In paging, both main memory and secondary
memory are divided into equal fixed-size partitions. The
partitions of the secondary memory area unit and the main
memory area unit are known as pages and frames respectively.
Paging is a memory management method accustomed fetch
processes from the secondary memory into the main memory in
the form of pages. in paging, each process is split into parts
wherever the size of every part is the same as the page size. The
size of the last half could also be but the page size. The pages of
the process area unit hold on within the frames of main memory
relying upon their accessibility

26. How does swapping result in better memory management?

Swapping is a simple memory/process management technique
used by the operating system(os) to increase the utilization of
the processor by moving some blocked processes from the main
memory to the secondary memory thus forming a queue of the
temporarily suspended processes and the execution continues
with the newly arrived process. During regular intervals that are
set by the operating system, processes can be copied from the
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

27. Write a name of classic synchronization problems?

 Bounded-buffer
 Readers-writers
 Dining philosophers
 Sleeping barber

28. What is the Direct Access Method?

The 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. Direct memory access (DMA) is a method that
allows an input/output (I/O) device to send or receive data
directly to or from the main memory, bypassing the CPU to
speed up memory operations. The process is managed by a chip
known as a DMA controller (DMAC).

29. When does thrashing occur?

Thrashing occurs when processes on the system frequently
access pages, not available memory.
30. What is the best page size when designing an operating
system?
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.

31. What is multitasking?

Multitasking is a logical extension of a multiprogramming
system that supports multiple programs to run concurrently. In
multitasking, more than one task is executed at the same time. In
this technique, the multiple tasks, also known as processes,
share common processing resources such as a CPU.

32. What is caching?

The cache is a smaller and faster memory that stores copies of
the data from frequently used main memory locations. There are
various different independent caches in a CPU, which store
instructions and data. Cache memory is used to reduce the
average time to access data from the Main memory.

33. What is spooling?

Spooling refers to simultaneous peripheral operations online,
spooling refers to putting jobs in a buffer, a special area in
memory, or on a disk where a device can access them when it is
ready. Spooling is useful because devices access data at
different rates.

34. What is the functionality of an Assembler?

The Assembler is used to translate the program written in
Assembly language into machine code. The source program is
an input of an assembler that contains assembly language
instructions. The output generated by the assembler is the object
code or machine code understandable by the computer.

35. What are interrupts?

The interrupts are a signal emitted by hardware or software
when a process or an event needs immediate attention. It alerts
the processor to a high-priority process requiring interruption of
the current working process. In I/O devices one of the bus
control lines is dedicated to this purpose and is called the
Interrupt Service Routine (ISR).

36. What is GUI?

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.
37. What is preemptive multitasking?
Preemptive multitasking is a type of multitasking that allows
computer programs to share operating systems (OS) and
underlying hardware resources. It divides the overall operating
and computing time between processes, and the switching of
resources between different processes occurs through predefined
criteria.

38. What is a pipe and when is it used?

A Pipe is a technique used for inter-process communication. A
pipe is a mechanism by which the output of one process is
directed into the input of another process. Thus it provides a
one-way flow of data between two related processes.

39. What are the advantages of semaphores?

 They are machine-independent.
 Easy to implement.
 Correctness is easy to determine.
 Can have many different critical sections with different
semaphores.
 Semaphores acquire many resources simultaneously.
 No waste of resources due to busy waiting.
40. What is a bootstrap program in the OS?
Bootstrapping is the process of loading a set of instructions
when a computer is first turned on or booted. During the startup
process, diagnostic tests are performed, such as the power-on
self-test (POST), which set or checks configurations for devices
and implements routine testing for the connection of peripherals,
hardware, and external memory devices. The bootloader or
bootstrap program is then loaded to initialize the OS.

41. What is IPC?

Inter-process communication (IPC) is a mechanism that allows
processes to communicate with each other and synchronize their
actions. The communication between these processes can be
seen as a method of cooperation between them.
42. What are the different IPC mechanisms?
These are the methods in IPC:
 Pipes (Same Process): This allows a flow of data in one
direction only. Analogous to simplex systems (Keyboard).
Data from the output is usually buffered until the input
process receives it which must have a common origin.
 Named Pipes (Different Processes): This is a pipe with a
specific name it can be used in processes that don’t have a
shared common process origin. E.g. FIFO where the details
written to a pipe are first named.
 Message Queuing: This allows messages to be passed
between processes using either a single queue or several
message queues. This is managed by the system kernel these
messages are coordinated using an API.
 Semaphores: This is used in solving problems associated
with synchronization and avoiding race conditions. These are
integer values that are greater than or equal to 0.
 Shared Memory: This allows the interchange of data through
a defined area of memory. Semaphore values have to be
obtained before data can get access to shared memory.
 Sockets: This method is mostly used to communicate over a
network between a client and a server. It allows for a
standard connection which is computer and OS independent

43. What is the difference between preemptive and non-

preemptive scheduling?
 In preemptive scheduling, the CPU is allocated to the
processes for a limited time whereas, in Non-preemptive
scheduling, the CPU is allocated to the process till it
terminates or switches to waiting for the state.
 The executing process in preemptive scheduling is
interrupted in the middle of execution when a higher priority
one comes whereas, the executing process in non-preemptive
scheduling is not interrupted in the middle of execution and
waits till its execution.
 In Preemptive Scheduling, there is the overhead of switching
the process from the ready state to the running state, vice-
verse, and maintaining the ready queue. Whereas the case of
 non-preemptive scheduling has no overhead of switching the
process from running state to ready state.
 In preemptive scheduling, if a high-priority process
frequently arrives in the ready queue then the process with
low priority has to wait for a long, and it may have to starve.
On the other hand, in non-preemptive scheduling, if CPU is
allocated to the process having a larger burst time then the
processes with a small burst time may have to starve.
 Preemptive scheduling attains flexibility by allowing the
critical processes to access the CPU as they arrive in the
ready queue, no matter what process is executing currently.
Non-preemptive scheduling is called rigid as even if a critical
process enters the ready queue the process running CPU is
not disturbed.
 Preemptive Scheduling has to maintain the integrity of
shared data that’s why it is cost associative which is not the
case with Non-preemptive Scheduling.

44. What is the zombie process?

A process that has finished the execution but still has an entry in
the process table to report to its parent process is known as a
zombie process. A child process always first becomes a zombie
before being removed from the process table. The parent process
reads the exit status of the child process which reaps off the
child process entry from the process table.
45. What are orphan processes?
A process whose parent process no more exists i.e. either
finished or terminated without waiting for its child process to
terminate is called an orphan process.

46. What are starvation and aging in OS?

Starvation: Starvation is a resource management problem where
a process does not get the resources it needs for a long time
because the resources are being allocated to other processes.
Aging: Aging is a technique to avoid starvation in a scheduling
system. It works by adding an aging factor to the priority of
each request. The aging factor must increase the priority of the
request as time passes and must ensure that a request will
eventually be the highest priority request

47. Write about monolithic kernel?

Apart from microkernel, Monolithic Kernel is another
classification of Kernel. Like microkernel, this one also
manages system resources between application and hardware,
but user services and kernel services are implemented under the
same address space. It increases the size of the kernel, thus
increasing the size of an operating system as well. This kernel
provides CPU scheduling, memory management, file
management, and other operating system functions through
system calls. As both services are implemented under the same
address space, this makes operating system execution faster.

48. What is Context Switching?

Switching of CPU to another process means saving the state of
the old process and loading the saved state for the new process.
In Context Switching the process is stored in the Process
Control Block to serve the new process so that the old process
can be resumed from the same part it was left.

49. What is the difference between the Operating system and

kernel?

Operating System Kernel

The kernel is system software

Operating System is system
that is part of the
software.
Microkerneloperating system.

Operating System provides The kernel provides an interface

an interface b/w the user b/w the application and
and the hardware. hardware.

Its main purpose is memory

It also provides protection
management, disk management,
and security.
process management and task
Operating System Kernel

management.

All systems need a real-

All operating system needs a
time operating system and a
kernel to run.
microkernel system to run.

Type of operating system

includes single and
Type of kernel includes
multiuser OS,
Monolithic and Microkernel.
multiprocessor OS, real-
time OS, Distributed OS.

It is the first program to

It is the first program to load
load when the computer
when the operating system loads
boots up.

50. What is the difference between process and thread?

S.NO Process Thread

Process means any Thread means a segment of a

1.
program is in execution. process.

2. The process is less Thread is more efficient in

S.NO Process Thread

efficient in terms of terms of communication.

communication.

3. The process is isolated. Threads share memory.

The process is called Thread is called lightweight

4.
heavyweight the process. process.

Thread switching does not

Process switching uses,
require to call an operating
5. another process interface
system and cause an
in operating system.
interrupt to the kernel.

If one process is blocked The second, thread in the

then it will not affect the same task could not run,
6.
execution of other while one server thread is
process blocked.

Thread has Parents’ PCB, its

The process has its own
own Thread Control Block
7. Process Control Block,
and Stack and common
Stack and Address Space.
Address space.
51. What is PCB?
the process control block (PCB) is a block that is used to track
the process’s execution status. A process control block (PCB)
contains information about the process, i.e. registers, quantum,
priority, etc. The process table is an array of PCBs, that means
logically contains a PCB for all of the current processes in the
system.

52. When is a system in a safe state?

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.

53. What is Cycle Stealing?

cycle stealing is a method of accessing computer memory
(RAM) or bus without interfering with the CPU. It is similar to
direct memory access (DMA) for allowing I/O controllers to
read or write RAM without CPU intervention.

54. What are a Trap and Trapdoor?

A trap is a software interrupt, usually the result of an error
condition, and is also a non-maskable interrupt and has the
highest priority Trapdoor is a secret undocumented entry point
into a program used to grant access without normal methods
of access authentication.
55. Write a difference between process and program?

S.NO Program Process

Program contains a set of

Process is an instance of an
1. instructions designed to
executing program.
complete a specific task.

Process is anThe process

Program is a passive entity active entity as it is created
2. as it resides in the during execution and
secondary memory. loaded into the main
memory.

Process exists for a limited

The program exists in a
span of time as it gets
3. single place and continues
terminated after the
to exist until it is deleted.
completion of a task.

A program is a static The process is a dynamic

4.
entity. entity.

Program does not have Process has a high resource

5. any resource requirement, requirement, it needs
it only requires memory resources like CPU,
S.NO Program Process

space for storing the memory address, and I/O

instructions. during its lifetime.

The program does not The process has its own

6. have any control block. control block called Process
Control Block.

56. What is a dispatcher?

The dispatcher is the module that gives process control over the
CPU after it has been selected by the short-term scheduler. This
function involves the following:
 Switching context
 Switching to user mode
 Jumping to the proper location in the user program to restart
that program

57. Define the term dispatch latency?

Dispatch latency can be described as the amount of time it takes
for a system to respond to a request for a process to begin
operation. With a scheduler written specifically to honor
application priorities, real-time applications can be developed
with a bounded dispatch latency.
58. What are the goals of CPU scheduling?
 Max CPU utilization [Keep CPU as busy as possible]Fair
allocation of CPU.
 Max throughput [Number of processes that complete their
execution per time unit]
 Min turnaround time [Time taken by a process to finish
execution]
 Min waiting time [Time a process waits in ready queue]
 Min response time [Time when a process produces the first
response]

59. What is a critical- section?

When more than one processes access the same code segment
that segment is known as the critical section. The critical section
contains shared variables or resources which are needed to be
synchronized to maintain the consistency of data variables. In
simple terms, a critical section is a group of
instructions/statements or regions of code that need to be
executed atomically such as accessing a resource (file, input or
output port, global data, etc.).

60. Write the name of synchronization techniques?

 Mutexes
 Condition variables
 Semaphores
 File locks

Intermediate OS Interview Questions

61. Write a difference between a user-level thread and a kernel-

level thread?

User-level thread Kernel level thread

User threads are implemented kernel threads are implemented

by users. by OS.

OS doesn’t recognize user- Kernel threads are recognized

level threads. by OS.

Implementation of User Implementation of the perform

threads is easy. kernel thread is complicated.

Context switch time is less. Context switch time is more.

Context switch requires no

Hardware support is needed.
hardware support.

If one user-level thread If one kernel thread perform a

performs a blocking operation the blocking operation then
then entire process will be another thread can continue
blocked. execution.
User-level thread Kernel level thread

User-level threads are Kernel level threads are

designed as dependent designed as independent
threads. threads.

62. Write down the advantages of multithreading?

Some of the most important benefits of MT are:
 Improved throughput. Many concurrent compute operations
and I/O requests within a single process.
 Simultaneous and fully symmetric use of multiple processors
for computation and I/O.
 Superior application responsiveness. If a request can be
launched on its own thread, applications do not freeze or
show the “hourglass”. An entire application will not block or
otherwise wait, pending the completion of another request.
 Improved server responsiveness. Large or complex requests
or slow clients don’t block other requests for service. The
overall throughput of the server is much greater.
 Minimized system resource usage. Threads impose minimal
impact on system resources. Threads require less overhead to
create, maintain, and manage than a traditional process.
 Program structure simplification. Threads can be used to
simplify the structure of complex applications, such as
server-class and multimedia applications. Simple routines
 can be written for each activity, making complex programs
easier to design and code, and more adaptive to a wide
variation in user demands.
 Better communication. Thread synchronization functions can
be used to provide enhanced process-to-process
communication. In addition, sharing large amounts of data
through separate threads of execution within the same
address space provides extremely high-bandwidth, low-
latency communication between separate tasks within an
application

63. Difference between Multithreading and Multitasking?

S.No Multi-threading Multi-tasking

Multiple threads are

executing at the same
Several programs are
1. time at the same or
executed concurrently.
different part of the
program.

CPU switches between CPU switches between

2.
multiple threads. multiple tasks and processes.

It is the process of a
3. It is a heavyweight process.
lightweight part.
S.No Multi-threading Multi-tasking

It is a feature of the
4. It is a feature of the OS.
process.

Multi-threading is Multitasking is sharing of

sharing of computing computing resources(CPU,
5.
resources among threads memory, devices, etc.)
of a single process. among processes.

64. What are the drawbacks of semaphores?

 Priority Inversion is a big limitation of semaphores.
 Their use is not enforced but is by convention only.
 The programmer has to keep track of all calls to wait and
signal the semaphore.
 With improper use, a process may block indefinitely. Such a
situation is called Deadlock.

65. What is Peterson’s approach?

It is a concurrent programming algorithm. It is used to
synchronize two processes that maintain the mutual exclusion
for the shared resource. It uses two variables, a bool array flag
of size 2 and an int variable turn to accomplish it.
66. Define the term Bounded waiting?
A system is said to follow bounded waiting conditions if a
process wants to enter into a critical section will enter in some
finite time.

67. What are the solutions to the critical section problem?

There are three solutions to the critical section problem:
 Software solutions
 Hardware solutions
 Semaphores

68. What is a Banker’s algorithm?

The banker’s algorithm is a resource allocation and deadlock
avoidance algorithm that tests for safety by simulating the
allocation for the predetermined maximum possible amounts of
all resources, then makes an “s-state” check to test for possible
activities, before deciding whether allocation should be allowed
to continue.

69. What is concurrency?

A state in which a process exists simultaneously with another
process than those it is said to be concurrent.
70. Write a drawback of concurrency?
 It is required to protect multiple applications from one
another.
 It is required to coordinate multiple applications through
additional mechanisms.
 Additional performance overheads and complexities in
operating systems are required for switching among
applications.
 Sometimes running too many applications concurrently leads
to severely degraded performance.

71. What are the necessary conditions which can lead to a

deadlock in a system?
Mutual Exclusion: There is a resource that cannot be shared.
Hold and Wait: A process is holding at least one resource and
waiting for another resource, which is with some other process.
No Preemption: The operating system is not allowed to take a
resource back from a process until the process gives it back.
Circular Wait: A set of processes waiting for each other in
circular form.

72. What are the issues related to concurrency?

 Non-atomic: Operations that are non-atomic but interruptible
by multiple processes can cause problems.
 Race conditions: A race condition occurs of the outcome
depends on which of several processes gets to a point first.
 Blocking: Processes can block waiting for resources. A
process could be blocked for a long period of time waiting
for input from a terminal. If the process is required to
periodically update some data, this would be very
undesirable.
 Starvation: It occurs when a process does not obtain service
to progress.
 Deadlock: It occurs when two processes are blocked and
hence neither can proceed to execute

73. Why do we use precedence graphs?

 A precedence graph is a directed acyclic graph that is used to
show the execution level of several processes in the
operating system. It has the following properties also:
 Nodes of graphs correspond to individual statements of
program code.
 An edge between two nodes represents the execution order.
 A directed edge from node A to node B shows that statement
A executes first and then Statement B executes

74. Explain the resource allocation graph?

The resource allocation graph is explained to us what is the state
of the system in terms of processes and resources. One of the
advantages of having a diagram is, sometimes it is possible to
see a deadlock directly by using RAG.

75. What is a deadlock?

Deadlock is a situation when two or more processes wait for
each other to finish and none of them ever finish. Consider an
example when two trains are coming toward each other on the
same track and there is only one track, none of the trains can
move once they are in front of each other. A similar situation
occurs in operating systems when there are two or more
processes that hold some resources and wait for resources held
by other(s).

76. What is the goal and functionality of memory management?

The goal and functionality of memory management are as
follows;
 Relocation
 Protection
 Sharing
 Logical organization
 Physical organization
77. Write a difference between physical address and logical
address?

S.NO. Parameters Logical address Physical Address

It is the virtual The physical address

1. Basic address generated is a location in a
by CPU. memory unit.

Set of all logical

addresses Set of all physical
generated by the addresses mapped to
CPU in reference the corresponding
2. Address
to a program is logical addresses is
referred to as referred to as a
Logical Address Physical Address.
Space.

The user can view The user can never

the logical view the physical
3. Visibility
address of a address of the
program. program

The user uses the The user can not

4. Access logical address to directly access the
access the physical address
 physical address.

The Logical
Address is Physical Address is
5. Generation
generated by the Computed by MMU
CPU

78. Explain address binding?

The Association of program instruction and data to the actual
physical memory locations is called Address Binding.

79. Write different types of address binding?

Address Binding is divided into three types as follows.
Compile-time Address Binding
Load time Address Binding
Execution time Address Binding

80. Write an advantage of dynamic allocation algorithms?

 When we do not know how much amount of memory would
be needed for the program beforehand.
 When we want data structures without any upper limit of
memory space.
 When you want to use your memory space more efficiently.
 Dynamically created lists insertions and deletions can be
done very easily just by the manipulation of addresses
 whereas in the case of statically allocated memory insertions
and deletions lead to more movements and wastage of
memory.
 When you want to use the concept of structures and linked
lists in programming, dynamic memory allocation is a must

81. Write a difference between internal fragmentation and

external fragmentation?

S.NO Internal fragmentation External fragmentation

In internal fragmentation In external fragmentation,

fixed-sized memory, variable-sized memory
1.
blocks square measure blocks square measure
appointed to process. appointed to the method.

Internal fragmentation
External fragmentation
happens when the
2. happens when the method or
method or process is
process is removed.
larger than the memory.

The solution to internal Solution for external

3. fragmentation is the fragmentation is compaction,
best-fit block. paging and segmentation.

4. Internal fragmentation External fragmentation

S.NO Internal fragmentation External fragmentation

occurs when memory is occurs when memory is

divided into fixed-sized divided into variable-size
partitions. partitions based on the size of
processes.

The unused spaces formed

The difference between
between non-contiguous
memory allocated and
memory fragments are too
5. required space or
small to serve a new process,
memory is called
which is called External
Internal fragmentation.
fragmentation.

82. Define the Compaction?

The process of collecting fragments of available memory space
into contiguous blocks by moving programs and data in a
computer’s memory or disk.

83. Write about the advantages and disadvantages of a hashed-

page table?
Advantages
The main advantage is synchronization.
In many situations, hash tables turn out to be more efficient than
search trees or any other table lookup structure. For this reason,
they are widely used in many kinds of computer software,
particularly for associative arrays, database indexing, caches,
and sets.
Disadvantages
 Hash collisions are practically unavoidable. when hashing a
random subset of a large set of possible keys.
 Hash tables become quite inefficient when there are many
collisions.
 Hash table does not allow null values, like a hash map.
Define Compaction.

84. Write a difference between paging and segmentation?

S.NO Paging Segmentation

In paging, program is In segmentation, the program

1. divided into fixed or is divided into variable-size
mounted-size pages. sections.

For the paging operating For segmentation compiler is

2.
system is accountable. accountable.

Page size is determined Here, the section size is given

3.
by hardware. by the user.

4. It is faster in comparison Segmentation is slow.

S.NO Paging Segmentation

of segmentation.

Paging could result in Segmentation could result in

5.
internal fragmentation. external fragmentation.

In paging, logical
Here, logical address is split
address is split into that
6. into section number and
page number and page
section offset.
offset.

Paging comprises a page While segmentation also

table which encloses the comprises the segment table
7.
base address of every which encloses the segment
page. number and segment offset.

A page table is
Section Table maintains the
8. employed to keep up the
section data.
page data.

In segmentation, the
In paging, operating
operating system maintains a
9. system must maintain a
list of holes in the main
free frame list.
memory.
S.NO Paging Segmentation

Paging is invisible to the Segmentation is visible to the

10.
user. user.

In paging, processor In segmentation, the

needs page number, processor uses segment
11.
offset to calculate the number, and offset to
absolute address. calculate the full address.

85. Write a definition of Associative Memory and Cache

Memory?

S.No. Associative Memory Cache Memory

A memory unit accessed by

Fast and small memory is
1 content is called
called cache memory.
associative memory.

It reduces the time required

It reduces the average
2 to find the item stored in
memory access time.
memory.

Here data is accessed by its Here, data are accessed by

3
content. their address.
S.No. Associative Memory Cache Memory

It is used when a particular

It is used where search
4 group of data is accessed
time is very short.
repeatedly.

Its basic characteristic is its

Its basic characteristic is
5 logic circuit for matching
its fast access
its content.

86. What is “Locality of reference”?

The locality of reference refers to a phenomenon in which a
computer program tends to access the same set of memory
locations for a particular time period. In other words, Locality of
Reference refers to the tendency of the computer program to
access instructions whose addresses are near one another.

87. Write down the advantages of virtual memory?

 A higher degree of multiprogramming.
 Allocating memory is easy and cheap
 Eliminates external fragmentation
 Data (page frames) can be scattered all over the PM
 Pages are mapped appropriately anyway
 Large programs can be written, as the virtual space available
is huge compared to physical memory.
 Less I/O required leads to faster and easy swapping of
processes.
 More physical memory is available, as programs are stored
on virtual memory, so they occupy very less space on actual
physical memory.
 More efficient swapping

88. How to calculate performance in virtual memory?

The performance of virtual memory of a virtual memory
management system depends on the total number of page faults,
which depend on “paging policies” and “frame allocation”.
Effective access time = (1-p) x Memory access time + p x page
fault time

89. Write down the basic concept of the file system?

A file is a collection of related information that is recorded on
secondary storage. Or file is a collection of logically related
entities. From the user’s perspective, a file is the smallest
allotment of logical secondary storage.

90. Write the names of different operations on file?

Operation on file:
 Create
 Open
 Read
 Write
 Rename
 Delete
 Append
 Truncate
 Close

91. Define the term Bit-Vector?

A Bitmap or Bit Vector is a series or collection of bits where
each bit corresponds to a disk block. The bit can take two values:
0 and 1: 0 indicates that the block is allocated and 1 indicates a
free block.

92. What is a File allocation table?

FAT stands for File Allocation Table and this is called so
because it allocates different files and folders using tables. This
was originally designed to handle small file systems and disks.
A file allocation table (FAT) is a table that an operating system
maintains on a hard disk that provides a map of the cluster (the
basic units of logical storage on a hard disk) that a file has been
stored in.

93. What is rotational latency?

Rotational Latency: Rotational Latency is the time taken by the
desired sector of the disgeek to rotate into a position so that it
can access the read/write heads. So the disk scheduling
algorithm that gives minimum rotational latency is better.

94. What is seek time?

Seek Time: Seek time is the time taken to locate the disk arm to
a specified track where the data is to be read or written. So the
disk scheduling algorithm that gives a minimum average seek
time is better.

Advanced OS Interview Questions

95. What is Belady’s Anomaly?

Bélády’s anomaly is an anomaly with some page replacement
policies increasing the number of page frames resulting in an
increase in the number of page faults. It occurs when the First In
First Out page replacement is used.

96. What happens if a non-recursive mutex is locked more than

once?
Deadlock. If a thread that had already locked a mutex, tries to
lock the mutex again, it will enter into the waiting list of that
mutex, which results in a deadlock. It is because no other thread
can unlock the mutex. An operating system implementer can
exercise care in identifying the owner of the mutex and return it
if it is already locked by the same thread to prevent deadlocks.
97. What are the advantages of a multiprocessor system?
There are some main advantages of a multiprocessor system:
Enhanced performance.
Multiple applications.
Multi-tasking inside an application.
High throughput and responsiveness.
Hardware sharing among CPUs.

98. What are real-time systems?

A real-time system means that the system is subjected to real-
time, i.e., the response should be guaranteed within a specified
timing constraint or the system should meet the specified
deadline.

99. How to recover from a deadlock?

We can recover from a deadlock by following methods:
 Process termination
 Abort all the deadlock processes
 Abort one process at a time until the deadlock is eliminated
 Resource preemption
 Rollback
 Selecting a victim
100. What factors determine whether a detection algorithm must
be utilized in a deadlock avoidance system?
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.

101. Explain the resource allocation graph?

The resource allocation graph is explained to us what is the state
of the system in terms of processes and resources. One of the
advantages of having a diagram is, sometimes it is possible to
see a deadlock directly by using RAG.