Unit -1: Operating Systems Overview

Computer system organization, Operating system structure, Process, memory, storage

management, Protection and security, Distributed systems, Computing Environments,
Open-source operating systems, OS services, User operating-system interface.

1.1 Computer system organization:

Introduction
• Computer Organization is the way in which a system has to structure.
• It is operational units and the interconnections between them that achieve the architectural
specifications.
• It is the realization of the abstract model.
• It deals with how to implement the system.
• Computer Organization refers to the level of abstraction above the digital logic level, but
below the operating system level.
• In computer engineering, micro-architecture, also called computer organization, is the way
a given instruction set architecture is implemented on a processor. A given ISA may be
implemented with different micro-architectures.
• Computer organization consist of following parts
o CPU – central processing unit
o Memory
o Input devices
o Output devices
CPU – central processing unit: Introduction
o It is referred to as the brain of the computer, processor, central processor, or
microprocessor, was first developed at Intel with the help of Ted Hoff in the early
1970’s and is short for Central Processing Unit.
o The computer CPU is responsible for handling all instructions it receives from hardware
and software running on the computer.
o CPU performs all types of data processing operations, and it stores data, intermediate
results and instructions (program).
o It controls the operation of all parts of computer.
CPU itself has following three components
ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit)
All arithmetic calculations and logical operation are performed using the
Arithmetic/Logical Unit or ALU
Memory Unit
A memory is just like a human brain. It is used to store data and instruction. Computer
memory is use to Stores information being processed by the CPU
Control Unit
Control unit help to perform operations of input unit, output unit, Memory unit and
ALU in a sequence.
Memory
o Computer memory is any physical device capable of storing information temporarily
or permanently.
o For example, Random Access Memory RAM is a type of volatile memory that is stores
information on an integrated circuit, and that is used by the operating system, software,
hardware, or the user.
Computer memory divide into two parts
1.Volatile memory
Volatile memory is a temporary memory that loses its contents when the computer or
hardware device loses power.eg. RAM
2.Non-volatile memory
Non-volatile memory keeps its contents even if the power is lost. Example: ROM or
EPROM is a good example of a non-volatile memory
Input Devices
o A device that can be used to insert data into a computer system is called as input device.
It allows people to supply information to computers.
o An input device is any hardware device that sends data to the computer, without any
input devices, a computer would only be a display device and not allow users to interact
with it, much like a TV.
o The most fundamental pieces of information are keystrokes on a keyboard and clicks
with a mouse.
o These two input devices are essential for you to interact with your computer.
o Input devices represent one type of computer peripheral.
Examples: keyboards, mouse, scanners, digital cameras and joysticks.
Output Devices
o A device which is used to display result from a computer is called as output device.
o It Allows people to receive information from computers.
o An output device is any peripheral that receives or displays output from a computer.
o The picture shows an inkjet printer, an output device that can make a hard copy of
anything being displayed on a monitor.
o Output device is electronic equipment connected to a computer and used to transfer
data out of the computer in the form of text, images, sounds or print.
Examples: Printer, Scanner, Monitor, etc.

Von Neumann Architecture

• In mid-1940s, John von Neumann elucidated the computer architecture.
o It is comprised of the five classical components (input, output, processor, memory,
and datapath).
o The processor is divided into
▪ an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and
▪ control unit, a method of organization that persists to the present.
o Within the processor, the ALU datapath mediates data transfer for computation.
o The registers are fast memory modules from/to which data can be read/written to
support streaming computation.
o Within the ALU, an accumulator supports efficient addition or incrementation of
values corresponding to variables such as loop indices.

Disadvantage:
o Its speed is dependent on the bandwidth or throughput of the datapath between the
processor and memory. This is called the von Neumann bottleneck.
Operating System Structure:
• The structure of the OS depends mainly on how the various standard components of the
operating system are interconnected and melded into the kernel.
• A design known as an operating system enables user application programs to communicate
with the machine’s hardware.
• The operating system is a component of every segment.
• The strategy for integrating different operating system components within the kernel can
be thought of as an operating system structure.
• It also defines the operating system structure.
o Simple Structure
o Monolithic Structure
o Layered Approach Structure
o Micro-Kernel Structure
o Exo-Kernel Structure
o Virtual Machines
Simple structure
• Such operating systems do not have well-defined structures and are small, simple, and
limited.
• The interfaces and levels of functionality are not well separated.
• MS-DOS is an example of such an operating system.
• In MS-DOS, application programs are able to access the basic I/O routines.
• These types of operating systems cause the entire system to crash if one of the user
programs fails.
• A diagram of the structure of MS-DOS is shown below.

Advantages:
• Simple to develop.
• These fewer layers offers superior performance.
Disadvantages:
• The entire operating system breaks if just one user program malfunctions.
• Since the layers are interconnected, and in communication with one another, there is no
abstraction or data hiding.
• The operating system's operations are accessible to layers, which can result in data
tampering and system failure.

MONOLITHIC STRUCTURE
• The monolithic operating system controls all aspects of the operating system's operation,
including file management, memory management, device management, and operational
operations.
• The monolithic operating system is often referred to as the monolithic kernel.
• Multiple programming techniques such as batch processing and time-sharing increase a
processor's usability.
• Working on top of the operating system and under complete command of all hardware, the
monolithic kernel performs the role of a virtual computer.
• This is an old operating system that was used in banks to carry out simple tasks like batch
processing and time-sharing, which allows numerous users at different terminals to access
the Operating System.
• The following diagram represents the monolithic structure:

Advantages of Monolithic Structure:

• The kernel alone is responsible for managing all operations, it is easy to design and execute.
• The monolithic kernel runs rather quickly when compared to other systems.
• Utilizing the same address speeds up and reduces the time required for address allocation
for new processes.
Disadvantages of Monolithic Structure:
• The monolithic kernel's services are interconnected in address space and have an impact on
one another, so if any of them malfunctions, the entire system does as well.
• It is not adaptable. Therefore, launching a new service is difficult.
LAYERED STRUCTURE
• The OS is separated into layers or levels in this kind of arrangement.
• Layer 0 (the lowest layer) contains the hardware, and layer 1 (the highest layer) contains
the user interface (layer N).
• These layers are organized hierarchically, with the top-level layers making use of the
capabilities of the lower-level ones.
• The functionalities of each layer are separated in this method, and abstraction is also an
option.
• Because layered structures are hierarchical, debugging is simpler, therefore all lower-level
layers are debugged before the upper layer is examined.
• As a result, the present layer alone has to be reviewed since all the lower layers have already
been examined.

Advantages of Layered Structure:

• Work duties are separated since each layer has its own functionality, and there is some
amount of abstraction.
• Debugging is simpler because the lower layers are examined first, followed by the top
layers.
Disadvantages of Layered Structure:
• Performance is compromised in layered structures due to layering.
• Construction of the layers requires careful design because upper layers only make use of
lower layers' capabilities.
MICRO-KERNEL STRUCTURE
• The operating system is created using a micro-kernel framework that strips the kernel of
any unnecessary parts.
• Systems and user applications are used to implement these optional kernel components. So,
Micro-Kernels is the name given to these systems that have been developed.
• Each Micro-Kernel is created separately and is kept apart from the others.
• As a result, the system is now more trustworthy and secure. If one Micro-Kernel
malfunctions, the remaining operating system is unaffected and continues to function
normally.

Advantages:
• It enables portability of the operating system across platforms.
• Due to the isolation of each Micro-Kernel, it is reliable and secure.
• The reduced size of Micro-Kernels allows for successful testing.
• The remaining operating system remains unaffected and keeps running properly even if a
component or Micro-Kernel fails.
Disadvantages:
• The performance of the system is decreased by increased inter-module communication.
• The construction of a system is complicated.

EXOKERNEL
• An operating system called Exokernel was created at MIT with the goal of offering
application-level management of hardware resources.
• The exokernel architecture's goal is to enable application-specific customization by
separating resource management from protection.
• Exokernel size tends to be minimal due to its limited operability.
• The exokernel architecture is designed, a single tiny kernel is responsible for moving all
hardware abstractions into unreliable libraries known as library operating systems.
 • Exokernels differ from micro- and monolithic kernels in that their primary objective is to
prevent forced abstraction.
Advantages:
• Application performance is enhanced by it.
• Accurate resource allocation and revocation enable more effective utilisation of hardware
resources.
• New operating systems can be tested and developed more easily.
• Every user-space program is permitted to utilise its own customised memory management.
Disadvantages:
• A decline in consistency
• Exokernel interfaces have a complex architecture.

VIRTUAL MACHINES (VMs)

• The hardware of our personal computer, including the CPU, disc drives, RAM, and NIC
(Network Interface Card), is abstracted by a virtual machine into a variety of various
execution contexts based on our needs, giving us the impression that each execution
environment is a separate computer.
• A virtual box is an example of it.
• The virtual machine method just offers an interface that is similar to that of the most
fundamental hardware.
Advantages:
• Due to total isolation between each virtual machine and every other virtual machine, there
are no issues with security.
• A virtual machine may offer an architecture for the instruction set that is different from that
of actual computers.
• Simple availability, accessibility, and recovery convenience.
Disadvantages:
• Depending on the workload, operating numerous virtual machines simultaneously on a host
computer may have an adverse effect on one of them.
• When it comes to hardware access, virtual computers are less effective than physical ones.

Process management:
• A program in execution is called a process.
• To accomplish its task, process needs the computer resources.
• More than one process in the system which may require the same resource at the same time.
• Therefore, the operating system has to manage all the processes and the resources in a
convenient and efficient way.
• The operating system is responsible for the following activities in connection with Process
Management
 o Scheduling processes and threads on the CPUs.
o Creating and deleting both user and system processes.
o Suspending and resuming processes.
o Providing mechanisms for process synchronization.
o Providing mechanisms for process communication.
Memory Management
• Memory is the important part of the computer that is used to store the data.
• Its management is critical to the computer system because the amount of main memory
available in a computer system is very limited.
• At any time, many processes are competing for it. Moreover, to increase performance,
several processes are executed simultaneously.
• For this, we must keep several processes in the main memory, so it is even more important
to manage them effectively.

Role of Memory management

Following are the important roles of memory management in a computer system:
• Memory manager is used to keep track of the status of memory locations, whether it is free
or allocated. It addresses primary memory by providing abstractions so that software
perceives a large memory is allocated to it.
• Memory manager permits computers with a small amount of main memory to execute
programs larger than the size or amount of available memory. It does this by moving
information back and forth between primary memory and secondary memory by using the
concept of swapping.
• The memory manager is responsible for protecting the memory allocated to each process
from being corrupted by another process. If this is not ensured, then the system may exhibit
unpredictable behavior.
• Memory managers should enable sharing of memory space between processes. Thus, two
programs can reside at the same memory location although at different times.
Storage Management:
• Storage Management is defined as it refers to the management of the data storage
equipment’s that are used to store the user/computer generated data.
 • Hence it is a tool or set of processes used by an administrator to keep your data and storage
equipment’s safe.
• Storage management is a process for users to optimize the use of storage devices and to
protect the integrity of data for any media on which it resides and the category of storage
management generally contain the different type of subcategories covering aspects such as
security, virtualization and more, as well as different types of provisioning or automation,
which is generally made up the entire storage management software market.
• Storage management key attributes: Storage management has some key attribute which is
generally used to manage the storage capacity of the system.
• These are given below:
1. Performance
2. Reliability
3. Recoverability
4. Capacity
Feature of Storage management:
• Storage management is a process that is used to optimize the use of storage devices.
• Storage management must be allocated and managed as a resource in order to truly benefit
a corporation.
• Storage management is generally a basic system component of information systems.
• It is used to improve the performance of their data storage resources.
Advantage:
• It becomes very simple to manage a storage capacity.
• It generally reduces the time consumption.
• It improves the performance of system.
• In virtualization and automation technologies, it can help an organization improve its
agility.
Limitations:
• Limited physical storage capacity: Operating systems can only manage the physical storage
space that is available, and as such, there is a limit to how much data can be stored.
• Performance degradation with increased storage utilization: As more data is stored, the
system’s performance can decrease due to increased disk access time, fragmentation, and
other factors.
• Complexity of storage management: Storage management can be complex, especially as
the size of the storage environment grows.
• Cost: Storing large amounts of data can be expensive, and the cost of additional storage
capacity can add up quickly.
• Security issues: Storing sensitive data can also present security risks, and the operating
system must have robust security features in place to prevent unauthorized access to this
data.
 • Backup and Recovery: Backup and recovery of data can also be challenging, especially if
the data is stored on multiple systems or devices.
Protection:
• A mechanism that controls the access of programs, processes, or users to the resources
defined by a computer system is referred to as protection.
• Protection may be achieved by maintaining confidentiality, honesty and availability in the
OS.
• It is critical to secure the device from unauthorized access, viruses, worms, and other
malware.
Need of Protection:
1. There may be security risks like unauthorized reading, writing, modification, or preventing
the system from working effectively for authorized users.
2. It helps to ensure data security, process security, and program security against unauthorized
user access or program access.
3. It is important to ensure no access rights' breaches, no viruses, no unauthorized access to
the existing data.
4. Its purpose is to ensure that only the systems' policies access programs, resources, and data.
Goals:
1. The policies define how processes access the computer system's resources, such as the
CPU, memory, software, and even the operating system
2. Protection is a technique for protecting data and processes from harmful or intentional
infiltration.
3. It also provides a multiprogramming OS with the security that its users expect when sharing
common space such as files or directories.
Advantages:
1. Ensures the security and integrity of the system
2. Prevents unauthorized access, misuse, or modification of the operating system and its
resources
3. Protects sensitive data
4. Provides a secure environment for users and applications
5. Prevents malware and other security threats from infecting the system
6. Allows for safe sharing of resources and data among users and applications
7. Helps maintain compliance with security regulations and standards.
Disadvantages:
1. Can be complex and difficult to implement and manage
2. May slow down system performance due to increased security measures
3. Can cause compatibility issues with some applications or hardware
4. Can create a false sense of security if users are not properly educated on safe computing
practices
 5. Can create additional costs for implementing and maintaining security measures.

Security:
• The process of ensuring OS availability, confidentiality, integrity is known as operating
system security.
• OS security refers to the processes or measures taken to protect the operating system from
dangers, including viruses, worms, malware, and remote hacker intrusions.
• Security refers to providing safety for computer system resources like software, CPU,
memory, disks, etc.
• It can protect against all threats, including viruses and unauthorized access.
• It can be enforced by assuring the operating system's integrity, confidentiality, and
availability.
• System security may be threatened through two violations, and these are as follows:
1. Threat
o A program that has the potential to harm the system seriously.
2. Attack
o A breach of security that allows unauthorized access to a resource.
Goal:
1. Integrity
• Unauthorized users must not be allowed to access the system's objects, and users with
insufficient rights should not modify the system's critical files and resources.

2. Secrecy
• The system's objects must only be available to a small number of authorized users.
• The system files should not be accessible to everyone.
3. Availability
• All system resources must be accessible to all authorized users, i.e., no single user/process
should be able to consume all system resources.
• If such a situation arises, service denial may occur. In this case, malware may restrict
system resources and preventing legitimate processes from accessing them.

Distributed System:
• Distributed System is a collection of autonomous computer systems that are physically
separated but are connected by a centralized computer network that is equipped with
distributed system software.
• The autonomous computers will communicate among each system by sharing resources
and files and performing the tasks assigned to them.
 • Distributed System Software: This Software enables computers to coordinate their
activities and to share the resources such as Hardware, Software, Data, etc.
• Database: It is used to store the processed data that are processed by each Node/System of
the Distributed systems that are connected to the Centralized network.
Characteristics:
Resource Sharing: It is the ability to use any Hardware, Software, or Data anywhere in the System.
Openness: It is concerned with Extensions and improvements in the system (i.e., How openly the
software is developed and shared with others)
Concurrency: It is naturally present in Distributed Systems, that deal with the same activity or
functionality that can be performed by separate users who are in remote locations. Every local
system has its independent Operating Systems and Resources.
Scalability: It increases the scale of the system as a number of processors communicate with more
users by accommodating to improve the responsiveness of the system.
Fault tolerance: It cares about the reliability of the system if there is a failure in Hardware or
Software, the system continues to operate properly without degrading the performance the system.
Transparency: It hides the complexity of the Distributed Systems to the Users and Application
programs as there should be privacy in every system.
Heterogeneity: Networks, computer hardware, operating systems, programming languages, and
developer implementations can all vary and differ among dispersed system components.
Advantages:
• Applications in Distributed Systems are Inherently Distributed Applications.
• Information in Distributed Systems is shared among geographically distributed users.
• Resource Sharing (Autonomous systems can share resources from remote locations).
• It has a better price performance ratio and flexibility.
• It has shorter response time and higher throughput.
• It has higher reliability and availability against component failure.
• It has extensibility so that systems can be extended in more remote locations and also
incremental growth.
Disadvantages:
• Relevant Software for Distributed systems does not exist currently.
• Security possess a problem due to easy access to data as the resources are shared to multiple
systems.
• Networking Saturation may cause a hurdle in data transfer i.e., if there is a lag in the
network then the user will face a problem accessing data.
• In comparison to a single user system, the database associated with distributed systems is
much more complex and challenging to manage.
• If every node in a distributed system tries to send data at once, the network may become
overloaded.
Applications:
• Finance and Commerce: Amazon, eBay, Online Banking, E-Commerce websites.
• Information Society: Search Engines, Wikipedia, Social Networking, Cloud Computing.
• Cloud Technologies: AWS, Salesforce, Microsoft Azure, SAP.
• Entertainment: Online Gaming, Music, youtube.
• Healthcare: Online patient records, Health Informatics.
• Education: E-learning.
• Transport and logistics: GPS, Google Maps.
• Environment Management: Sensor technologies.

Computing Environments:
• Computing environments refer to the technology infrastructure and software platforms that
are used to develop, test, deploy, and run software applications.
• There are several types of computing environments,
1. Personal Computing Environment: In personal computing environment there is a stand-
alone machine. Complete program resides on computer and executed there. Different stand-
alone machines that constitute a personal computing environment are laptops, mobiles,
printers, computer systems, scanners etc. That we use at our homes and offices.
2. Time-Sharing Computing Environment: In Time Sharing Computing Environment
multiple users share system simultaneously. Different users (different processes) are
allotted different time slice and processor switches rapidly among users according to it. For
example, student listening to music while coding something in an IDE. Windows 95 and
later versions, Unix, IOS, Linux operating systems are the examples of this time-sharing
computing environment.
3. Client Server Computing Environment: In client server computing environment two
machines are involved i.e., client machine and server machine, sometime same machine
also serve as client and server. In this computing environment client requests
resource/service and server provides that respective resource/service. A server can provide
service to multiple clients at a time and here mainly communication happens through
computer network.
4. Distributed Computing Environment: In a distributed computing environment multiple
nodes are connected together using network but physically they are separated. A single task
is performed by different functional units of different nodes of distributed unit. Here
different programs of an application run simultaneously on different nodes, and
communication happens in between different nodes of this system over network to solve
task.
5. Grid Computing Environment : In grid computing environment, multiple computers from
different locations works on single problem. In this system set of computer nodes running
in cluster jointly perform a given task by applying resources of multiple computers/nodes.
It is network of computing environment where several scattered resources provide running
environment for single task.
6. Cloud Computing Environment : In cloud computing environment on demand availability
of computer system resources like processing and storage are availed. Here computing is
not done in individual technology or computer rather it is computed in cloud of computers
where all required resources are provided by cloud vendor. This environment primarily
comprised of three services i.e software-as-a-service (SaaS), infrastructure-as-a-service
(IaaS), and platform-as-a-service (PaaS).
7. Cluster Computing Environment : In cluster computing environment cluster performs task
where cluster is a set of loosely or tightly connected computers that work together. It is
viewed as single system and performs task parallelly that’s why also it is similar to parallel
computing environment. Cluster aware applications are especially used in cluster
computing environment.
Advantages:
• Mainframe: High reliability, security, and scalability, making it suitable for mission-critical
applications.
• Client-Server: Easy to deploy, manage and maintain, and provides a centralized point of
control.
• Cloud Computing: Cost-effective and scalable, with easy access to a wide range of
resources and services.
• Mobile Computing: Allows users to access information and applications from anywhere,
at any time.
• Grid Computing: Provides a way to harness the power of multiple computers for large-
scale computations.
• Embedded Systems: Enable the integration of software into devices and products, making
them smarter and more functional.
Disadvantages:
• Mainframe: High cost and complexity, with a significant learning curve for developers.
• Client-Server: Dependence on network connectivity, and potential security risks from
centralized data storage.
• Cloud Computing: Dependence on network connectivity, and potential security and privacy
concerns.
• Mobile Computing: Limited processing power and memory compared to other computing
environments, and potential security risks.
• Grid Computing: Complexity in setting up and managing the grid infrastructure.
• Embedded Systems: Limited processing power and memory, and the need for specialized
skills for software development.

Open-Source Operating System

• The term "open source" refers to computer software or applications where the owners or
copyright holders enable the users or third parties to use, see, and edit the product's source
code.
• The source code of an open-source OS is publicly visible and editable.
• Example such as Apple's iOS, Microsoft's Windows, and Apple's Mac OS are closed
operating systems.
• In 1997, the first Open-Source software was released.
• The open-source operating system allows the use of code that is freely distributed and
available to anyone and for commercial purposes.
• The user may modify or change those codes and develop new applications according to the
user requirement.
 • Some basic examples of the open-source operating systems are Linux, Open Solaris, Free
RTOS, Open BDS, Free BSD, Minix, etc.
Advantages
1. Reliable and efficient
The open-source operating systems are most reliable and efficient. Thousands of eyes monitor these
because the source code is public. As a result, if there are any bugs or errors, they are fixed by the
best developers worldwide.
2. Cost-efficient
Most of the open-source operating systems are free. And some of them are far less expensive than
commercially closed products.
3. Flexibility
The great advantage is you may customize it as per your requirement. And there is creative
freedom.
Disadvantages
1. Complicated
It is not as user-friendly as the ones that are closed. To use this software, you must have a basic
understanding of technology.
2, Security risk
Despite the defects having been detected, there is a risk of assaults because the attackers have
access to the source code.
3. No support
If you run across an issue, there is no customer support available to assist you.

Operating system services:

• The operating system provides the programming environment in which a programmer
works on a computer system.
• The user program requests various resources through the operating system.
• The operating system gives several services to utility programmers and users.
• Applications access these services through application programming interfaces or system
calls.
• By invoking those interfaces, the application can request a service from the operating
system, pass parameters, and acquire the operation outcomes.
Following are the services provided by an operating system -
• Program execution
• Control Input/output devices
• Program creation
• Error Detection and Response
• Accounting
• Security and Protection
 • File Management
• Communication
Program execution
• To execute a program, several tasks need to be performed. Both the instructions and data
must be loaded into the main memory. In addition, input-output devices and files should be
initialized, and other resources must be prepared. The Operating structures handle these
kinds of tasks. The user now no longer should fear the reminiscence allocation or
multitasking or anything.
Control Input/output devices
• As there are numerous types of I/O devices within the computer system, and each I/O
device calls for its own precise set of instructions for the operation. The Operating System
hides that info with the aid of presenting a uniform interface. Thus, it is convenient for
programmers to access such devices easily.
Program Creation
• The Operating system offers the structures and tools, including editors and debuggers, to
help the programmer create, modify, and debugging programs.
Error Detection and Response
• An Error in a device may also cause malfunctioning of the entire device. These include
hardware and software errors such as device failure, memory error, division by zero,
attempts to access forbidden memory locations, etc. To avoid error, the operating system
monitors the system for detecting errors and takes suitable action with at least impact on
running applications.
• While working with computers, errors may occur quite often. Errors may occur in the:
• Input/ Output devices: For example, connection failure in the network, lack of paper in the
printer, etc.
User program: For example: attempt to access illegal memory locations, divide by zero, use too
much CPU time, etc.
Memory hardware: For example, Memory error, the memory becomes full, etc.
To handle these errors and other types of possible errors, the operating system takes appropriate
action and generates messages to ensure correct and consistent computing.
Accounting
• An Operating device collects utilization records for numerous assets and tracks the overall
performance parameters and responsive time to enhance overall performance. These
personal records are beneficial for additional upgrades and tuning the device to enhance
overall performance.
Security and Protection
• Operating device affords safety to the statistics and packages of a person and protects any
interference from unauthorized users. The safety feature counters threats, which are
published via way of individuals out of doors the manager of the running device.
File management
• Computers keep data and information on secondary storage devices like magnetic tape,
magnetic disk, optical disk, etc. Each storage media has its capabilities like speed, capacity,
data transfer rate, and data access methods.
• For file management, the operating system must know the types of different files and the
characteristics of different storage devices. It has to offer the proportion and safety
mechanism of documents additionally.
Communication
• The operating system manages the exchange of data and programs among different
computers connected over a network. This communication is accomplished using message
passing and shared memory.

User Operating System Interface:

What is User Interface?
• User Interface (UI) defines the way humans interact with the information systems.
• In Layman’s term, User Interface (UI) is a series of pages, screens, buttons, forms and other
visual elements that are used to interact with the device.
• Every app and every website has a user interface. User Interface (UI) Design is the creation
of graphics, illustrations, and use of photographic artwork and typography to enhance the
display and layout of a digital product within its various device views.
• Interface elements consist of input controls (buttons, drop-down menus, data fields),
navigational components (search fields, slider, icons, tags), informational components
(progress bars, notifications, message boxes).
Types of User Interface (UI)
1. GUI (Graphical User Interface): Visual user interface output (keyboard and monitor)
with a tactile user interface input.
2. Menu Driven Interface: An UI that uses a menu of options to navigate a program or
website is known as a menu-driven UI. For instance, ATMs have user interfaces that are
menu-driven and simple to use.
3. Form Based Interface: Form-based user interfaces provide a small number of options for
users to choose from when entering data into a program or application. For instance, a
device’s settings menu is form-based.
4. Touch user interface: Haptic or tactile user interface. Haptic input is used by most
smartphones, tablets, and other devices with touch screens.
5. Voice user interface: Auditory commands are used to communicate between humans and
machines. GPS, talk-to-text gadgets, and virtual assistants are a few examples.

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