Operating

Systems
Dr Damitha Karunaratna
University of Colombo school of computing
Topics to discuss
• Components of a computer system.
• Different types of software.
• What is an operating system(OS)?
• Input/Output devices.
• Need of an operating system.
• Main functions of an OS.
• Different Types of Oss
• How the OS get loaded

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Components of a Computer
System
 hardware—electronic, mechanical, optical
devices.
 software—programs.
 Software saved on the storage media.
 Software burned into hardware – Firmware
 Users – Computer Users, machines, other
computers. Liveware?????

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Different types of Software
 Application Software
 Systems Software
 Operating system
 System utilities : utilities are smaller and
more simple than applications.

The quality of system software also directly

affects the application software

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Types of Software

Transient Component

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Input/Output Devices
Reading/writing data from a peripheral device is a complex task.
•Each device has its own hardware controller.
•Each device controller is managed by a separate software - device
driver
•Input/output is slow when compared with CPU processing.

Modern CPUs can execute several billion (109)instructions per second.

Hard disks data transfer speeds is around 40-60MB per second

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What is an operating
system(OS)?
 A program that
acts as an
intermediary
between a user of
a computer and
the computer
hardware.

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What is an operating
system(OS)?

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 What is an operating
system(OS)?

The operating system

run in kernel or
supervisor mode
whereas the utility
programs run in user
mode

Utility software: system software designed to help analyze, configure, optimize or

maintain a computer(Anti-virus, Backup software, Editors, Data compression, Disk
cleaners ….). They are not essential to the running of the computer

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Why we need an OS?
◦ Computer hardware is complex.
◦ Each type of Computer hardware is different.
◦ Instruction required to manage different hardware
components are different.
◦ Many processes are active at any given time and
compete for resources.

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Why we need an OS?
◦ Typically application programs have to do many independent
activities such as reading data from the console, reading data from
hard drive, perform various types of computations, print results on
the printer etc.
◦ Can a programmer expect to handle all hardware devices required for
his program by using the different instructions provided by the different
devices? For example when writing data to the hard disk should the
programmer worry about how the data is organized on the hard disk.
◦ Can a running program be allowed to change the code of another
program.
◦ Should a erroneous program halt the entire system.
◦ Should a single program be allowed to use CPU all the time.
◦ If two different programs try to access the same sharable resource
simultaneously, should it be allowed (example Printer)

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The role of an OS
Allow different applications to share resources of a
computer simultaneously(arbitration, multiplexing).
 An operating system provides orderly and controlled
allocation of the resources among processes (jobs) that
are competing for them.
Implements useful abstractions (interfaces)
 Implements common mechanisms for applications to use
hardware.
 Hide complexities of hardware devices
 Programmers need not be aware of the low level details of
the hardware devices.

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Main objectives of an OS
Convenience: Make the computer more convenient to
use
◦ Provide easy to use interface for a normal users.
◦ Hide the complexity of the hardware devices from the
application developer.

Efficiency: Monitor and manage resources of the

computer system efficiently
◦ CPU
◦ Main memory
◦ I/O devices

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What is an operating
system(OS)?
Kernel : Part of the
O/S that resides in
the main memory
all the time.

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Virtual Machines ?

Applications
Virtual Interfaces
Operating System
Physical Interfaces

Hardware

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Different types of OSs(Based on
the processor)
• Windows/Linux – For personal computers
• Unix,z/OS, OS/390, VM – For mainframes
• MacOs – For Macs
• X Server, Windows Server – Server Operating
Systems
• Symbian,Android – Embedded OS - For mobile
phones.

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Different types of OSs(Based on
the users)
• Single user – Allows only a single user to use the
OS at any given time. The use may run several
processes at the same time.
• Example - DOS

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Different types of OSs(Based on
the users and Tasks)
• Multi User- Allows multiple users to access a
computer system at the same time
• Example UNIX, Mainframe OSs and Internet
servers.

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Different types of OSs(Based on
the number of tasks)
• Single Task– Allows only one running program at
any given time.
• Multi Task - A multi-tasking operating system
allows more than one program to be running at
the same time.

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Different types of OSs
• Real Time – OS is designed to run applications with
very precise timing and with a high degree of
reliability.
• The main objective of real-time operating systems is
their quick and predictable response to events.
• These types of OS are needed in situations where
downtime is costly or a program delay could cause a
safety hazard.

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Services provided by an OS
Process Management
Storage (external) management
Memory management
I/O device management
Management of the File System
Networking
User Interface
Protection

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Services provided by an
OS….
Error detection and response
◦ Hardware errors: memory error or device failure
◦ Software errors: arithmetic errors, access forbidden
memory locations
Accounting
◦ collect statistics (billing)
◦ monitor performance

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Types of User Interfaces
Command Line Interface(CLI) – Character Based

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Types of User Interfaces
Graphical User Interface(GUI)

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OS and Processors
Can any OS run on any
processor?
Operating systems are software
Operating systems are designed
and developed for a specific CPU
family.
◦ Macintosh OS: Motorola 680xx,
PowerPC Gx, Intel
◦ DOS: Intel CPUs
◦ Windows 9x and XP: Intel 80386,
80486, and Pentium CPUs
◦ Linux: Intel CPUs
◦ MS NT & 2000: Intel CPUs

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 Compatibility of Software
Question
Will software developed for one operating
system work on another?
For example will MS Word for Macintosh run
on a PC with Windows XP?

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Compatibility of Software
Question
Will software developed for one operating system
work on another?
Answer
No (unless there is special emulation software or
hardware). The software is typically developed
separately for each operating system.

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How the OS get loaded??
When the computer is switched on, CPU loads the boot program from
ROM(BIOS in PCs).
The main tasks of the boot program.
◦ Checks the essential hardware components and examine the machine
configuration (number of CPUs, capacity of main memory, type of hardware
devices).
◦ Builds a configuration structure.
◦ Loads the OS and provides it the configuration structure.

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Topics discussed
• Components of a computer system.
• Different types of software.
• What is an operating system(OS)?
• Input/Output devices.
• Need of an operating system.
• Main functions of an OS.
• Different Types of Oss
• How the OS get loaded

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