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OS Practical Viva Questions Points

The document provides a comprehensive overview of operating systems, covering definitions, functions, types, and key concepts such as kernels, processes, memory management, and file systems. It includes explanations of multitasking, deadlock, semaphores, and various scheduling algorithms. Additionally, it contrasts UNIX and Windows operating systems and introduces virtualization through hypervisors.

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39 views5 pages

OS Practical Viva Questions Points

The document provides a comprehensive overview of operating systems, covering definitions, functions, types, and key concepts such as kernels, processes, memory management, and file systems. It includes explanations of multitasking, deadlock, semaphores, and various scheduling algorithms. Additionally, it contrasts UNIX and Windows operating systems and introduces virtualization through hypervisors.

Uploaded by

smartsiva333333333
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Operating System Practical Viva Questions & Answers

1. What is an operating system?


It is system software that manages hardware and software resources.

2. What are the main functions of an OS?


- Process management
- Memory management
- File management
- Device management

3. What are the types of operating systems?


- Batch OS
- Time-Sharing OS
- Distributed OS
- Real-Time OS
- Network OS
- Mobile OS

4. What is a kernel?
The core part of an OS that controls everything in the system.

5. What is the difference between a monolithic kernel and a microkernel?


- Monolithic Kernel: All OS services in one unit (faster but less secure).
- Microkernel: Minimal services in the kernel (more secure but slower).

6. What is multitasking?
Running multiple processes at the same time.

7. What is multiprocessing?
Running multiple processes using multiple CPUs.

8. What is a process?
A program that is currently running.

9. What are the states of a process?


- New
- Ready
- Running
- Waiting
- Terminated

10. What is context switching?


Switching the CPU from one process to another.
11. What is CPU scheduling?
Deciding which process will use the CPU next.

12. What are scheduling algorithms?


- FCFS (First Come First Serve)
- SJF (Shortest Job First)
- Round Robin
- Priority Scheduling
- Multilevel Queue Scheduling

13. What is deadlock?


When processes keep waiting for each other and can't proceed.

14. What are the conditions for deadlock?


- Mutual Exclusion
- Hold and Wait
- No Preemption
- Circular Wait

15. How can we prevent deadlock?


- Remove any one of the four conditions.
- Use resource allocation graphs.
- Implement safe state checking.

16. What is starvation in OS?


A low-priority process never gets CPU time.

17. What is a semaphore?


A variable used to control access to shared resources.

18. What is mutual exclusion?


Only one process can use a resource at a time.

19. What is a critical section?


A part of a program where shared resources are accessed.

20. What are types of semaphores?


- Binary Semaphore (0 or 1)
- Counting Semaphore (more than 1)

21. What is memory management?


Managing RAM usage for different programs.

22. What is virtual memory?


Using hard disk space as extra RAM.

23. What is paging?


Dividing memory into fixed-size blocks.

24. What is segmentation?


Dividing memory into variable-size blocks.

25. What is fragmentation?


Wasted memory due to inefficient allocation.

26. What are the types of fragmentation?


- Internal Fragmentation (waste inside allocated space)
- External Fragmentation (small free spaces outside)

27. How to reduce fragmentation?


- Compaction
- Paging
- Segmentation

28. What is demand paging?


Loading only required pages into memory.

29. What is page replacement?


Replacing old pages when memory is full.

30. What are page replacement algorithms?


- FIFO (First-In-First-Out)
- LRU (Least Recently Used)
- Optimal Page Replacement

31. What is a file system?


A system that organizes and manages data on storage.

32. What are file attributes?


- Name
- Size
- Type
- Location
- Permissions

33. What is a directory?


A collection of files.

34. What are file access methods?


- Sequential Access
- Direct Access
- Indexed Access

35. What is disk scheduling?


Managing the order of disk read/write requests.

36. What are disk scheduling algorithms?


- FCFS (First Come First Serve)
- SSTF (Shortest Seek Time First)
- SCAN
- C-SCAN
- LOOK

37. What is an inode?


A data structure storing file metadata.

38. What is RAID?


A method to combine multiple disks for better performance or reliability.

39. What is an I/O system?


Manages input and output devices.

40. What is spooling?


Storing jobs temporarily before execution (used in printing).

41. What is an OS shell?


A program that allows users to interact with the OS using commands.

42. What is a system call?


A request from a program to the OS for a service.

43. What are types of system calls?


- Process control
- File management
- Device management
- Memory management

44. What is an interrupt?


A signal that tells the CPU to stop its current task and do something urgent.

45. What is a bootloader?


A program that loads the OS when the computer starts.

46. What is thrashing?


Excessive paging that slows down the system.

47. What is a daemon process?


A background process that runs continuously.

48. What is shell scripting?


Writing scripts to automate OS tasks.
49. What is the difference between UNIX and Windows OS?
- UNIX: Mostly command-line based, used in servers.
- Windows: Graphical user interface (GUI), used in personal computers.

50. What is a hypervisor?


Software that allows multiple operating systems to run on the same hardware (used in virtualization).

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