18-01-2025

Operating Systems

Lecture 1:
Introduction to Operating
System

Dr. Anjali
Assistant Professor

An OS is a program which acts as an

interface between computer system
users and the computer hardware.

It provides a user-friendly environment in

which a user may easily develop and
1.1 General execute programs.

Definition Otherwise, hardware knowledge would

be mandatory for computer
programming.

So, it can be said that an OS hides the

complexity of hardware from
uninterested users.

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• In general, a computer system has some resources

which may be utilized to solve a problem. They
are

1.1 General • Memory

• Processor(s)
Definition • I/O
• File System
• etc.

1.1
General
Definition
Mainboard

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1.1 General
Definition

1.1 General Definition

mainboard

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1.1 General Definition

Processor

1.1 General Definition

RAM

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The OS manages these resources and

allocates them to specific programs and
users.

1.1 General With the management of the OS, a

programmer is rid of difficult hardware
Definition considerations.

An OS provides services for

Processor Memory File Device Concurrency
Management Management Management Management Control

1.1 General Definition Application Programs

System Programs
• Another aspect for the usage of OS is
that; it is used as a predefined library
for hardware-software interaction.
• This is why, system programs apply to Operating System
the installed OS since they cannot reach
hardware directly.
Machine Language

HARDWARE

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1.1 General Definition

• Since we have an already written library, namely the OS, to add two
numbers we simply write the following line to our program:
c=a+b;

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(Assuming an MC 6800
computer hardware)

LDAA $80  Loading the

number at memory
location 80

1.1 General In a system where there

is no OS installed, we
LDAB $81  Loading the
number at memory

Definition
should consider some
location 81
hardware work as:

As seen, we considered
memory locations and
ADDB  Adding
used our hardware
these two numbers
knowledge of the
system.

STAA $55  Storing the

sum to memory location
55

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1.1 General Definition

In an OS installed machine, since we have an intermediate layer, our programs obtain some
advantage of mobility by not dealing with hardware.

For example, the previous program segment would not work for an 8086 machine, where as the

“c = a + b ;” syntax will be suitable for both.

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1.1 General Definition

A more
A simple program sophisticated Hardware
segment with no OS program segment Machine response
hardware with hardware Language
consideration consideration

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1.1 General Definition

• With the advantage of easier programming provided by

the OS, the hardware, its machine language and the OS
constitutes a new combination called as a virtual
(extended) machine.

Operating
Machine System
Virtual
Language Machine (Extended)
Machine Language
Hardware Machine
Hardware

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1.1 General Definition

In a more simplistic approach, in fact, OS itself is a

program.

But it has a priority which application programs don’t have.

OS uses the kernel mode of the microprocessor, whereas

other programs use the user mode.

The difference between two is that; all hardware

instructions are valid in kernel mode, where some of them
cannot be used in the user mode.

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1.2 History of Operating Systems

• It all started with computer hardware in about 1940s.

ENIAC 1943
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1.2 History of
Operating Systems

• ENIAC (Electronic Numerical

Integrator and Computer), at the
U.S. Army's Aberdeen Proving
Ground in Maryland.
• built in the 1940s,
• weighed 30 tons,
• was eight feet high, three feet
deep, and 100 feet long
• contained over 18,000 vacuum
tubes that were cooled by 80 air
blowers.

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1.2 History of Operating Systems

• Computers were using vacuum tube technology.

ENIAC’s vacuum tubes

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1.2 History of
Operating
Systems
ENIAC’s backside

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1.2 History of Operating Systems

Programs were loaded into memory manually using switches, punched

cards, or paper tapes.

ENIAC : coding by cable connections

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1.2 History of Operating Systems

Punch card

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1.2 History of Operating Systems

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1.2 History of Operating Systems

Paper tape

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1.2 History of Operating Systems

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1.2 History of
Operating Systems

• Babbage’s analytical engine

• (designed in 1840’s by Charles
Babbage, but cold not be
constructed by him.
• An earlier and simpler version is
constructed in 2002, in London )

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As time went on, card readers,

printers, and magnetic tape
units were developed as
additional hardware elements.

1.2 History of Assemblers, loaders and simple

Operating utility libraries were developed
as software tools.
Systems
Later, off-line spooling and
channel program methods were
developed sequentially.

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1.2 History of Operating Systems

Commodore PET,
1977

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1.2 History of Operating Systems

• Finally, the idea of multiprogramming came.

• Multiprogramming means sharing of resources between
more than one processes.
• By multiprogramming the CPU time is not wasted,
because, while one process moves on some I/O work,
the OS picks another process to execute till the current
one passes to I/O operation.

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1.2 History of Operating Systems

• With the development of interactive computation in

1970s, time-sharing systems emerged.
• In these systems, multiple users have terminals (not
computers) connected to a main computer and execute
her/his task in the main computer.

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1.2 History of Operating Systems

Main computer; having a CPU

executing processes by
utilization of the OS, (e.g. UNIX).

Terminals are connected

to the main computer and
used for input and output.
No processing is made.
They do not have CPUs.

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Another computer system is the

multiprocessor system having
multiple processors sharing
1.2 History of memory and peripheral devices.

Operating
Systems With this configuration, they
have greater computing power
and higher reliability.

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1.2 History of Operating Systems

Multiprocessor systems are classified into two as

tightly-coupled and loosely-coupled (distributed).

In the tightly-coupled one, each processor is

assigned a specific duty but processors work in close
association, possibly sharing the same memory.

In the loosely coupled one, each processor has its

own memory and copy of the OS.

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1.2 History of Operating Systems

• Use of the networks required OSs appropriate for them.

• In network systems, each process runs in its own
machine but the OS have access to other machines.
• By this way, file sharing, messaging, etc. became
possible.
• In networks, users are aware of the fact that s/he is
working in a network and when information is
exchanged. The user explicitly handles the transfer of
information.

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1.2 History of Operating Systems

Each is a computer having its own

CPU, RAM, etc. An OS supporting
networks is installed on them.

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1.2 History of Operating Systems

• Distributed systems are similar to

networks. However in such systems, there
is no need to exchange information
explicitly, it is handled by the OS itself
whenever necessary.

• With continuing innovations, new

architectures and compatible OSs are
developed. But their details are not in the
scope of this text since the objective here
is to give only a general view about
developments in OS concept.

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