INTRODUCTION

TO COMPUTING SCIENCES
COS101
TUTOR: Dr.(Mrs.) Abisoye O.A
Phone: +23460546074
E-mail: [email protected]

Module 2: Computer Hardware

Unit 2: Operating System
 OPERATING SYSTEMS
Introduction

Operating systems are the most important software that run on a

computer. They manage the computer hardware, and act as a
midway between the computer user and the hardware.

Operating systems vary greatly. For example, personal computer

operating systems are designed to support games, business
applications and so on. On the other hand, operating systems for
mainframe computers are designed to maximize the utilization of
hardware.
Historical Evolution Of Operating Systems
 Historical Evolution Of Operating Systems

Serial Processing: Be aware that from the late 1940s to the mid-
1950s, the earliest computers had no operating systems, thus the
programmer interacted directly with the hardware. Programs written in
machine were loaded via a card reader (i.e., the input device).

If a program successfully completed execution, the output appeared

on a printer. However, if the program halted due to an error, the error
condition was indicated by some display lights.
The programmer and/or computer operator had to supply all the
instructions to carry out even the most basic tasks. There were two
main problems with the earliest computers.
 Historical Evolution Of Operating
Systems cont’d
 Because users had to reserve computer time, the computer remained
idle if a user’s program completed execution before the allocated time.
On the other hand, if a user ran into problems, he/she might be forced to
leave the computer once the allocated time was used up, even though
the program has not completed execution.
Considerable time was needed to setup a program to run. A single
program could involve loading a high-level program and compiler into
memory, saving the compiled program, and so on. If an error occurred in
the process, the user had to go back to the beginning of the sequence.
This mode of operation is referred to as serial processing, since users
had to access the computer in series.
History of Computing
Simple Batch Systems: The first operating systems were batch
systems which appeared in the mid-1950s. Batch systems used
a simple operating system known as a monitor, which eliminated
the need for users to directly access the processor. Instead, a
user submits a program or job to the computer operator on tape
or disk.
The operator queues up the jobs, and later submits an entire
batch of jobs to the monitor on an input device. Each program is
designed to return to the monitor upon completion, so that the
monitor can load the next job. The major bottleneck of batch
processing systems were input/output operation: all computation
had to stop to let an I/O operation take place.
Multi-Programmed Batch Systems: Even though job
sequencing is automatically handled in simple batch systems, the
processor is often idle. The reason is that I/O devices are slow
compared to the processor. A processor may spend up to 90% of
its time waiting to read from/write to a file.

Multiprogramming or multitasking systems allow the monitor as

well as several other programs to be loaded into the computer
memory. Processor idle time is minimized because while one
program is performing I/O, another program can make use of the
processor. This approach is used in many modern operating
systems.
Time-Sharing Systems: Multiprogramming allows batch
systems to be efficient, but it doesn’t allow the user to interact
with the computer during processing. User interaction is
essential in certain jobs such as transaction processing.
Timesharing allows the processor time to be shared among
multiple users.
Each user accesses the computer through a terminal. The
operating system allocates a small time slice to each job, and
then moves to the next job. The process is repeated until all
jobs are completed. Because the time slot is very small, the
operating system returns to each job after a short time, causing
each user to think that only his/her job is running on the
computer.
Types Of Operating Systems
There are a wide variety of operating systems in use today. Some of
these types of operating systems are:
Mainframe Operating Systems: Mainframes are the room-sized
computers still found in major corporate data centers. Operating
systems for mainframes are geared towards processing multiple
I/O-intensive jobs at the same time.
Server Operating Systems: Server operating systems run on
servers, which could be large personal computers, or even
mainframes. They serve multiple users at once over a network and
allow the users to share software and hardware resources. Servers
can provide one or more of the following types of services: file
service, print service, or Web service.
Multiprocessor Operating Systems: Multiprocessor operating
systems are needed to help connect multiple CPUs into a single
system. They differ from server operating systems, because they
have special features for handling communication, connectivity, and
consistency
Personal Computer Operating Systems: Personal Computer
operating systems provide good support to a single user. They
support multiprogramming, and are widely used for word
processing, spreadsheets, and Internet access.
Handheld Computer Operating Systems: Handheld computers
include mobile phones as well as Personal Digital Assistants (PDA),
which are used for performing a small number of functions, such as
an electronic address book and memo pad. The operating systems
that run on these handhelds have the ability to handle telephony,
digital photography, emails, Internet access, and other functions.
Embedded Operating Systems: Embedded
systems run on the computers that control
devices that are not usually thought of as
computers. Since they do not accept user-
installed software. Examples are car engines,
MP3 players, TV sets, microwave ovens, and
DVD recorders. Embedded systems differ from
handheld devices, because entrusted software
will not run on embedded systems. For
example, you cannot download new
applications to your microwave oven, since all
the software is already stored in the ROM.
 Sensor Node Operating Systems: Sensors are small battery-
powered computers with built-in radios. These nodes are tiny
computers that communicate with each other and with a base
station using wireless communication. They have limited power
and must work for long periods of time unattended outdoors,
frequently in environmentally harsh conditions. Sensor networks
are used to detect fires in forests, measure temperature and
precipitation for weather forecasting, protect the perimeters of
buildings, and guard national borders, and so on. The operating
system for sensor networks need to be small and simple because
the nodes have little RAM and battery lifetime is a major issue.
 Real-Time Operating Systems: Real-time systems have time as
a key parameter. These systems must provide absolute
guarantees that a certain action will occur by a certain time For
example, if a car is moving down an assembly line, certain actions
must take place at certain instants of time. If a welding robot welds
too early or too late, the car will be ruined.
Functions of Operating Systems
The operating system acts as an interface between application
software and the hardware. The key functions of an operating
system include:
User Interface: Virtually all operating systems provide a user
interface (UI) for users to interact with the computer. For example, a
command line interface allows users to enter text commands,
whereas a graphical user interface allows users to interact with on-
screen objects and menus using a pointing device.
Program Execution: An operating system performs several tasks
in order to execute a program: it loads the instructions and data into
memory, it allocates the processor to the program, and so on.
 I/O Operations: A running program may require I/O from a file
or I/O device. In order to ensure efficiency and protection, users
cannot control I/O directly. Instead, the operating system
provides a means to carry out I/O.
 File System Manipulation: Operating systems provide file
systems that allow users and programs to create, list, search
for, delete, read and write files and directories.
Resource Allocation: Operating systems handle the allocation
of resources to multiple users and/or multiple jobs running at the
same time. Such resources include CPU, main memory and file
storage.
Protection and Security: Protection is concerned with
controlling the access of genuine users/jobs to the computer
resources. On the other hand, security involves safeguarding the
computer system from outsiders.
An example of protection is when the operating system prevents
several jobs running at the same time from interfering with one
another or with the operating system. An example of security is
when the operating system requires users to validate themselves
by means of passwords, in order to gain access to system
resources.
Virtual Machines
A virtual machine (VM) abstracts the hardware of a single
computer (such as CPU, memory and disk drives) into a
number of execution environments, making it seem like each
execution environment is running its own private computer.
Virtualization allows a single computer to run multiple
operating systems, or multiple sessions of an operating
system.
A host operating system can support several virtual machines.
A virtual machine monitor (VMM) runs on top of the host
operating system, or is incorporated into it. Each virtual
machine runs a separate virtual operating system. In order to
execute a job, the VMM hands over processor control to a
virtual machine operating system.
Jobs Jobs Jobs
…
Virtual machine
1
Virtual machine
2
… Virtual machine n

Virtual machine monitor

Host operating system

Hardware
 Conclusion
 Computer operating systems have evolved from serial and batch operating
systems to
those that support multiprogramming and timesharing.

 Operating systems perform many important functions such as provision of

user interface, program execution, and management of
I/O and file operations.
THANK YOU