St. Joseph’s Degree College BSc.

, IV Semester(OS)

Unit I
What is Operating System? History and Evolution of OS, Basic OS functions, Resource
Abstraction, Types of Operating Systems– Multiprogramming Systems, Batch Systems,
Time Sharing Systems; Operating Systems for Personal Computers, Workstations and
Hand-held Devices, Process Control & Real time Systems.

 What is an Operating System?

An Operating system (OS) is a software which acts as an interface between the end user and
computer hardware. Every computer must have at least one OS to run other programs.
An application like Chrome, MS Word, Games, etc needs some environment in which it will
run and perform its task. The OS helps you to communicate with the computer without
knowing how to speak the computer's language. It is not possible for the user to use
any computer or mobile device without havingan operating system.
An operating system performs all the basic tasks like file management, memorymanagement,
process management, handling input and output, and controlling peripheral devices such as
disk drives and printers.
Some popular Operating Systems include Linux Operating System, Windows Operating
System, VMS, OS/400, AIX, z/OS, etc.

 Features of Operating System:

• An operating system is a program that acts as an interface between the software and the
computer hardware.
• It is an integrated set of specialized programs used to manage overall resources and
operations of the computer.
• It is specialized software that controls and monitors the execution of all other programs
that reside in the computer, including application programs and other system software.

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The Operating System is a program with the following features –

 Allows disk access, file systems, Device drivers, and Networking Security
 Program Execution
 Memory management Virtual Memory Multitasking
 Handling I/O operations
 Error Detection and handling
 Resource allocation
 Information and Resource Protection
 Protected and supervisor mode.

 History of OS:

Operating systems were first developed in the late 1950s to manage tapestorage
The General Motors Research Lab implemented the first OS in the early1950s for
their IBM 701
In the mid-1960s, operating systems started to use disks.
In the late 1960s, the first version of the Unix OS was developed.
The first OS built by Microsoft was DOS. It was built in 1981 bypurchasing the 86-
DOS software from a Seattle company.
The present-day popular OS Windows first came to existence in 1985 whena GUI was
created and paired with MS-DOS.

 Operating System Evolution

Operating system is divided into four generations, which are explained as follows:
First Generation (1945-1955)
It is the beginning of the development of electronic computing systems which aresubstitutes for
mechanical computing systems. Because of the drawbacks in mechanical computing systems
like, the speed of humans to calculate is limited and humans can easily make mistakes. In this
generation there is no operating system, so the computer system is given instructions which

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must be done directly.

Example − Type of operating system and devices used is Plug Boards.
Second Generation (1955-1965)
The Batch processing system was introduced in the second generation, where a job or a task
that can be done in a series, and then executed sequentially. In this generation, the computer
system is not equipped with an operating system, but several operating system functions exist
like FMS and IBSYS.
Example − Type of operating system and devices used is Batch systems.
Third Generation (1965-1980)
The development of the operating system was developed to serve multiple users at once in the
third generation. Here the interactive users can communicate through an online terminal to a
computer, so the operating system becomes multi-user and multiprogramming.
Example − Type of operating system and devices used is Multiprogramming.
Fourth Generation (1980-Now)
In this generation the operating system is used for computer networks where users are aware of
the existence of computers that are connected to one another.
At this generation users are also comforted with a Graphical User Interface (GUI), which is an
extremely comfortable graphical computer interface, and the era of distributed computing has
also begun.
With the occurrence of new wearable devices like Smart Watches, Smart Glasses, VRGears,
and others, the demand for conventional operating systems has also increased.
And, with the onset of new devices like wearable devices, which includes Smart Watches,
Smart Glasses, VR gears etc, the demand for unconventional operatingsystems is also rising.
Example − Type of operating system and devices used is personal computers

 Basic OS Functions
Following are some of important functions of an operating System.

1. Memory Management
2. Processor Management
3. Device Management
4. File Management
5. Security
6. Control over system performance
7. Job accounting
8. Error detecting aids
9. Coordination between other software and users

Memory Management:
Memory management refers to management of Primary Memory or Main Memory.
Main memory is a large array of words or bytes where each word or byte has its own
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address.
Main memory provides a fast storage that can be accessed directly by the CPU. For a
program to be executed, it must in the main memory. An Operating Systemdoes the following
activities for memory management −
Keeps tracks of primary memory, i.e., what part of it are in use by whom, what part
are not in use.
In multiprogramming, the OS decides which process will get memorywhen and
how much.
Allocates the memory when a process requests it to do so.
De-allocates the memory when a process no longer needs it or has beenterminated.

Processor Management:
In multiprogramming environment, the OS decides which process gets the processor
when and for how much time.
This function is called process scheduling. An Operating System does the following
activities for processor management −
Keeps tracks of processor and status of process. The program responsible for this task
is known as traffic controller.
Allocates the processor (CPU) to a process.
De-allocates processor when a process is no longer required.

Device Management:
An Operating System manages device communication via their respectivedrivers. It does
the following activities for device management −
Keeps tracks of all devices. Program responsible for this task is known as the I/O
controller.
Decides which process gets the device when and for how much time.
Allocates the device in the efficient way.
De-allocates devices.
File Management:
A file system is normally organized into directories for easy navigation andusage.
These directories may contain files and other directions.

An Operating System does the following activities for file management −

Keeps track of information, location, uses, status etc. The collectivefacilities are often
known as file system.
Decides who gets the resources.
Allocates the resources.
De-allocates the resources.

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Security:
By means of password and similar other techniques, it prevents unauthorizedaccess to
programs and data.
Control over system performance :
Recording delays between request for a service and response from the system.

Job accounting :
Keeping track of time and resources used by various jobs and users.
Error detecting aids :
Production of dumps, traces, error messages, and other debugging and errordetecting aids.

Coordination between other softwares and users :

Coordination and assignment of compilers, interpreters, assemblers and othersoftware
to the various users of the computer systems.

 Resource abstraction
A resource is "any object which can be allocated within a system". Some examples of
resources are processors (CPUs), input/output devices, files, and memory (RAM).
Resource abstraction is the process of “hiding the details of how the hardware operates,
thereby making computer hardware relatively easy for an application programmer to use”
An abstraction is software that hides lower level details and provides a set of higher-level
functions.
E.g.: Memory, Disk, Keyboard and Monitor

 Types of Operating Systems

Some widely used operating systems are as follows-
1. Batch Operating System
In a Batch Operating System, the similar jobs are grouped together into batches with the help
of some operator and these batches are executed one by one. It is the responsibility of the
operator to sort jobs with similar needs.

Through Batch Operating System the overall time taken by the system to execute all the
programs will be reduced. And The Batch Operating System can be shared between multiple
users.
Examples of Batch based Operating System: Payroll System, Bank Statements, etc.

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2. Time-Sharing Operating System

Time-sharing Operating System is also known as Multi-tasking Operating System. In
this Operating System, more than one processes are being executed at a particular time with
the help of the time-sharing concept. So, in the time-sharing environment, we decide a time
that is called time quantum and when the process starts its execution then the execution
continues for only that amount of time. And after that, other processes will be given chance for
that amount of time only. In the next cycle, the first process will again come for its execution
and it will be executed for that time quantum only and again next process will come. This
process will continue. The following image describes the working of a Time-Sharing
Operating System.

In this Operating System equal time quantum is given to each process, so each process gets
equal opportunity to execute. And the CPU will be busy in most of the cases and this is good
to have case.
Examples of Time-Sharing OSs are: Multics(Multiplexed Information and Computing
Service), Unix, etc.

3. Distributed Operating System

In a Distributed Operating System, we have various systems and all these systems have
their own CPU, main memory, secondary memory, and resources. These systems are
connected to each other using a shared communication network. Here, each system can
perform its task individually. The best part about these Distributed Operating System is remote
access i.e. one user can access the data of the other system and can work accordingly. So,
remote access is possible in these Distributed Operating Systems.

Examples of Distributed Operating System are- LOCUS, etc

4. Network Operating System –

These systems run on a server and provide the capability to manage data, users, groups,
security, applications and other networking functions. These types of operating systems allow

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shared access of files, printers, security, applications, and other networking functions over a
small private network. One more important aspect of Network Operating Systems is that all
the users are well aware of the underlying configuration, of all other users within the network,
their individual connections, etc. and that’s why these computers are popularly known
as tightly coupled systems.

Examples of Network Operating System are: Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Microsoft
Windows Server 2008, UNIX, Linux, Mac OS X, Novell NetWare, and BSD, etc.

5. Real-time Operating System

The Real-time Operating Systems are used in the situation where we are dealing with
some real-time data. So, as soon as the data comes, the execution of the process should be
done and there should be no delay i.e. no buffer delays should be there. Real-time OS is a
time-sharing system that is based on the concept of clock interrupt. So, whenever you want to
process a large number of requests in a very short period of time, then you should use Real-
time Operating System.
Real-time systems are used when there are time requirements that are very strict like missile
systems, air traffic control systems, robots, etc.
6. Multiprogramming Operating System:
Multiprogramming Operating System is an ability of an operating system that
executes more than one program using a single processor machine. More than one task or
program or jobs are present inside the main memory at one point of time.
The OS could pick and start the execution of one of the jobs in memory, whenever the
jobs does not need CPU that means the job is working with I/O at that time the CPU is idle at
that time the OS switches to another job in memory and CPU executes a portion of it till the job
issues a request for I/O and so on.
the following figure shows the memory layout for a multiprogramming system.

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 Operating Systems for Personal Computers and Workstations

There are huge numbers of Operating systems developed in the past 2 to 3 decades. Every
computing device has some sort of operating system that runs within it, similarly the
workstations also supports many operating systems but there are four main operating systems
that are currently used everywhere. These four main operating systems for the workstations
are:-
 Windows OS
 Linux OS
 Mac OS
 Chrome OS
Windows Operating system
The Microsoft Windows family of operating systems has been the largest installation
operating systems in the desktop and laptop PC market. Windows family is developed by the
American company i.e. Microsoft and these are commercial operating systems which means
that we can only use these when wepurchase its license from the company.
Microsoft windows family has many versions of operating systems but the most
popular was the windows7 because it is friendly user OS as compared to others. Its latest
version is windows 10. Some of the major versions of the windows operating systems are
shown in the table below.

Linux Operating systems

Linux was developed in 1991 by Linus Torvalds and it is one of the derivative ofUNIX.
Linux is also the least popular operating system for workstation installation.
Linux is open source operating system which means that anyone can download it, use it
and can modify it according to their will. Linux is basically a command-line operating system.
However, many distributions (distros) come with a desktop environment (DE) that provides a
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GUI for Linux users. One of the most popular distros for casual users is Ubuntu. There are also
other distros in Linux like LinuxMint, Debian, KDE, and Red Hat.
In the Ubuntu interface, the topmost Launcher button is the Dash button, which is almost
equivalent to Windows’ Start button. We install applications in Ubuntu mostly through
CLI(Command Line Interface).

Mac Operating system

Apple introduced the Macintosh computer in 1984 and it had a very easy-to-use
interface — the first popular WIMP(Window, Icon, Menu and Pointer) interface. The OS on
the first Mac was simply called System. Many previous versions using the word ‘system’ are
system 1–7 in which System 7 was the last version to use the “System” name.
With update 7.6, Apple dropped the title and renamed it Mac OS. Mac OS X was the
tenth version of the Mac series of operating systems which has many updated features as
compared to its previous ones. Similarly, Max OS X has many updated versions and Apple has
named each version after large cats. These all versions of Mac OS X are shown in the figure
bellow.

Mac OS X has also user friendly interfaces like windows and these are also a
commercial operating systems which require proper license before use it. These are used in
high visual projects because they have high definition graphics as compared to all other types
of operating systems.
Chrome OS
Chrome OS was developed by Google and launched in 2011. Chrome OS is supposed
to be lightweight and perform the most common tasks users need today. Chrome desktop looks
like most other modern OS desktops, with a launcher in the lower-left corner, a taskbar, and
status tray with a clock in the lower-right corner.
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One interesting thing about Chrome OS is that it stores very little on the local computer.
Everything is stored on the cloud. Chrome operating systems are mostly found on the small
mini Netbooks which are also called Chromebooks. These don’t have proper versions like
the windows or mac OS, but instead these areautomatically updated through the Internet.

 Operating Systems for Handheld Devices:-

The Mobile phones operating systems is the software platform which can run on mobile
devices. it is also called a mobile OS.it is designed to run on mobile devices such as mobile
phones, smartphones, tablet and other handheld devices. There are different types of Mobile
operating Systems include Apple iOS, Google Android, BlackBerry OS, Nokia’s Symbian, and
Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS.
Apple iOS:
ios is a mobile operating system developed by apple inc in 29thJune 2007.this
operating system is based on the macintosh os x iOS has been used in all iPhones, iPod & iPad.
It is also known as the iphone os.
Android OS:
Android is one of the top operating systems. Android is operating system developed by
google. This operating system is based on the linux. It is a free opensource software. Samsung,
HTC, micromax, Motorola and many other top manufacturers are using Android in their
devices.
Windows OS :
Windows OS is proprietary mobile operating system developed by microsoft for
smartphone.It was very popular among people who were used to it. Windows os provide
colorful and user-friendly interface so currently in demand all over theworld.
Blackberry OS:
Blackberry OS is developed by rim in 1999.RIM has developed this operating system
smartphones. Some of the smartphones operating on Blackberry OS like Blackberry Bold,
Blackberry Curve, Blackberry Torch and many more.
BADA:
Samsung has owns an operating system that is known as BADA. BADA means Ocean or sea
in Korean language. It is designed formid-range and high-end smart phones. Bada is a quiet user-
friendly and efficient operating system, like Android. Samsung Wave, Samsung Wave 2 and
Samsung Wave 3 are using BADA OS in devices.

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Process Control
Process:
Process is the execution of a program that performs the actions specified in the program.
Process States:
As a process executes, it changes state. The state of a process is defined in part by the current
activity of that process. A process may be in one of the following states:
 New: The process is being created.
 Running: Instructions are being executed.
 Waiting: The process is waiting for some event to occur (such as an I/O completion or
reception of a signal).
 Ready: The process is waiting to be assigned to a processor.
 Terminated: The process has finished execution.

Process Control Block

Each process is represented in the operating system by a process control block (PCB)—also
called a task control block. It contains many pieces of information associated with a specific
process, including these:

 Process state: The state may be new, ready, running, waiting, halted, and so on.
 Program counter: The counter indicates the address of the next instruction to be
executed for this process.
 CPU registers: They include accumulators, index registers, stack pointers, and general-
purpose registers, plus any condition-code information. Along with the program counter,
this state information must be saved when an interrupt occurs.
 CPU-scheduling information: This information includes a process priority, pointers to
scheduling queues, and any other scheduling parameters.
 Memory-management information: This information may include such items as the
value of the base and limit registers and the page tables, or the segment tables, depending
on the memory system used by the operating system.
 Accounting information: This information includes the amount of CPU and real time
used, time limits, account numbers, job or process numbers, and so on.
 I/O status information: This information includes the list of I/O devices allocated to the
process, a list of open files, and so on.
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