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Components of Operating System _ GeeksforGeeks

An operating system serves as an interface between users and computer hardware, managing resources and providing an environment for program execution. Key components include process management, file management, command interpreter, system calls, signals, network management, security management, I/O device management, secondary storage management, and main memory management. Each component plays a crucial role in task handling, resource management, and data safety.

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Components of Operating System _ GeeksforGeeks

An operating system serves as an interface between users and computer hardware, managing resources and providing an environment for program execution. Key components include process management, file management, command interpreter, system calls, signals, network management, security management, I/O device management, secondary storage management, and main memory management. Each component plays a crucial role in task handling, resource management, and data safety.

Uploaded by

Riyaz
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Components of Operating System

Last Updated : 12 Nov, 2024

An Operating system is an interface between users and the hardware of a


computer system. It is a system software that is viewed as an organized
collection of software consisting of procedures and functions, providing an
environment for the execution of programs. The operating system
manages system software and computer hardware resources. It allows
computing resources to be used in an efficient way. Programs interact with
computer hardware with the help of operating system. A user can interact
with the operating system by making system calls or using OS commands.

Important Components of the Operating System


Process Management
File Management
Command Interpreter
System Calls
Signals
Network Management
Security Management
I/O Device Management
Secondary Storage Management
Main Memory Management

Process Management
A process is a program in execution. It consists of the followings:

Executable program
▲
Program data
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Stack and stack pointer
Program counter and other CPU registers
Details of opened files

A process can be suspended temporarily and the execution of another


process can be taken up. A suspended process can be restarted later.
Before suspending a process, its details are saved in a table called the
process table so that it can be executed later on. An operating system
supports two system calls to manage processes Create and Kill –

Create a system call used to create a new process.


Kill system call used to delete an existing process.

Five State Process Model

A process can create a number of child processes. Processes can


communicate among themselves either using shared memory or by
message-passing techniques. Two processes running on two different
computers can communicate by sending messages over a network.

Files Management
Files are used for long-term storage. Files are used for both input and
output. Every operating system provides a file management service. This
file management service can also be treated as an abstraction as it hides
the information about the disks from the user. The operating system also

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provides a system call for file management. The system call for file
management includes:

File creation
File deletion
Read and Write operations

Files are stored in a directory. System calls provide to put a file in a


directory or to remove a file from a directory. Files in the system are
protected to maintain the privacy of the user. Below shows the Hierarchical
File Structure directory.

File Structure Directory

Command Interpreter
There are several ways for users to interface with the operating system.
One of the approaches to user interaction with the operating system is
through commands. Command interpreter provides a command-line
interface. It allows the user to enter a command on the command line
prompt (cmd). The command interpreter accepts and executes the
commands entered by a user. For example, a shell is a command
interpreter under UNIX. The commands to be executed are implemented in
two ways:

The command interpreter itself contains code to be executed.

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The command is implemented through a system file. The necessary
system file is loaded into memory and executed.

System Calls

System calls provide an interface to the services made by an operating


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System calls. These calls are normally made available as library functions
in high-level languages such as C, Java, Python etc. It provides a level of
abstraction as the user is not aware of the implementation or execution of
the call made. Details of the operating system is hidden from the user.
Different hardware and software services can be availed through system
calls.

System calls are available for the following operations:

Process Management
Memory Management
File Operations
Input / Output Operations

Signals
Signals are used in the operating systems to notify a process that a
particular event has occurred. Signals are the software or hardware
interrupts that suspend the current execution of the task. Signals are also
used for inter-process communication. A signal follows the following
pattern :

A signal is generated by the occurrence of a particular event it can be


the clicking of the mouse, the execution of the program successfully or
an error notifying, etc.
A generated signal is delivered to a process for further execution.
Once delivered, the signal must be handled.
A signal can be synchronous and asynchronous which is handled by a
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default handler or by the user-defined handler.
The signal causes temporarily suspends the current task it was
processing, saves its registers on the stack, and starts running a special
signal handling procedure, where the signal is assigned to it.

Network Management
The complexity of networks and services has created modern challenges
for IT professionals and users. Network management is a set of processes
and procedures that help organizations to optimize their computer
networks. Mainly, it ensures that users have the best possible experience
while using network applications and services.

Network management is a fundamental concept of computer networks.


Network Management Systems is a software application that provides
network administrators with information on components in their networks.
It ensures the quality of service and availability of network resources. It
also examines the operations of a network, reconstructs its network
configuration, modifies it for improving performance of tasks.

Security Management
The security mechanisms in an operating system ensure that authorized
programs have access to resources, and unauthorized programs have no
access to restricted resources. Security management refers to the various
processes where the user changes the file, memory, CPU, and other
hardware resources that should have authorization from the operating
system.

I/O Device Management


The I/O device management component is an I/O manager that hides the
details of hardware devices and manages the main memory for devices
using cache and spooling. This component provides a buffer cache and
general device driver code that allows the system to manage the main
memory and the hardware devices connected to it. It also provides and
manages custom drivers for particular hardware devices.

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The purpose of the I/O system is to hide the details of hardware devices
from the application programmer. An I/O device management component
allows highly efficient resource utilization while minimizing errors and
making programming easy on the entire range of devices available in their
systems.

Secondary Storage Management


Broadly, the secondary storage area is any space, where data is stored
permanently and the user can retrieve it easily. Your computer’s hard drive
is the primary location for your files and programs. Other spaces, such as
CD-ROM/DVD drives, flash memory cards, and networked devices, also
provide secondary storage for data on the computer. The computer’s main
memory (RAM) is a volatile storage device in which all programs reside, it
provides only temporary storage space for performing tasks. Secondary
storage refers to the media devices other than RAM (e.g. CDs, DVDs, or
hard disks) that provide additional space for permanent storing of data and
software programs which is also called non-volatile storage.

Main Memory Management


Main memory is a flexible and volatile type of storage device. It is a large
sequence of bytes and addresses used to store volatile data. Main memory
is also called Random Access Memory (RAM), which is the fastest
computer storage available on PCs. It is costly and low in terms of storage
as compared to secondary storage devices. Whenever computer programs
are executed, it is temporarily stored in the main memory for execution.
Later, the user can permanently store the data or program in the secondary
storage device.

Conclusion
In Conclusion, the components of an operating system work together to
make a computer system function easily. Each component, from process
management to security, plays a unique role in handling tasks, managing
resources, and ensuring data safety. By coordinating these functions, the
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