5.

1
OPERATING
SYSTEM
5 – SYSTEM SOFTWARE
OPERATING SYSTEM – PRE-TOPIC UNDERSTANDING

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OPERATING SYSTEM – PRE-TOPIC UNDERSTANDING
Key Terms:
 Memory  Hardware  Disk defragmenter
 CMOS
management management  Disk content
 Operating system
 Memory optimisation
 Device driver analysis software
 HCI  Memory organisation
 Utility program  Disk compression
 GUI  Security
 Disk formatter  Back-up utility
management
 CLI
 Contiguous  Bad sector  Program library
 Icon
 Virtual memory  Antivirus software  Library program
 WIMP systems
 Heuristic checking  Library routine
 Post-WIMP  Memory protection
 Quarantine  Dynamic link file
 Pinching and  Process management
(DLL)
 False positive
rotating
OPERATING SYSTEM – WHY AN OS IS REQUIRED
OPERATING SYSTEM – WHY AN OS IS REQUIRED
 As the hard disk drive developed, OS’ were stored on the hard drive while the start up of the
motherboard was handled by the basic input/output system (BIOS).
 The BIOS contents is stored on flash memory. The BIOS configuration is stored in CMOS
memory meaning it can be altered or deleted.
 The required part of the OS is copied into RAM – OS’ are too big to store all of it in RAM at once.

 An OS provides the environment that applications can

run in as well as the usable interface between human
and machine disguising the complexity of the
workings of the hardware components within.
 The HCI is usually achieved through GUI most
commonly. Although it is also possible for a user to
use CLI.
OPERATING SYSTEM – WHY AN OS IS REQUIRED
 The CLI requires humans to type commands or instructions from text based menus. Commands
must be exact and without errors. Therefore something simple on a GUI such as saving a file
becomes more error-prone in CLI.
 The advantage of CLI is that the user has direct communication with the computer without being
limited by a pre-determined set of options as with a GUI.
 One of the first GUIs developed was the WIMP which has been the basis for all GUIs until now.
Allowing multiple windows to be open at once can offer the use of multiple applications running.
 A windows manager looks after the
interaction between windows, the
applications and windowing system.
 Smart phones, tablets and many
computers use post-WIMP which
utilising pinching and rotating which
are difficult using a single pointer as
well as a single tap with a finger.
OPERATING SYSTEM – OS TASKS
The OS is responsible for a variety of tasks including:
 Memory management

 File management

 Security management

 Hardware management

 Process management

You will need to be able to talk about all of these.

OPERATING SYSTEM – OS TASKS
Memory management is the management of the computer’s main memory. This can be broken into three parts:
memory optimisation, memory organisation and memory protection.
Memory optimisation – manages how the computer’s memory is allocated and deallocated when applications
run simultaneously. Also determines where they are stored in the memory and so must keep track of all allocated
and free memory for use by applications. This will also swap data to and from HDD/SSD to maintain optimisation.

Memory organisation – determines how much memory is allocated to an application and how the memory is
split up in the most appropriate manner. This can be done with:
 A single (contiguous) allocations where all memory is available to an application such as MS-DOS.

 Partitioned allocation where memory is split into contiguous blocks of varying sizes and allocates to an
application.
 Page memory is similar to partitioned but each partition is of a fixed size. Used by virtual memory systems.

 Segmented memory is where memory blocks are not contiguous. Each segment will be a logical grouping of
data.
OPERATING SYSTEM – OS TASKS
Memory management is the management of the computer’s main memory. This can be broken
into three parts: memory optimisation, memory organisation and memory protection.
Memory protection ensures that two competing applications cannot use the same memory
locations at the same time. If this was not done data could be lost, applications could produce
incorrect results, there could be security issues or the computer may crash.

Memory protection and memory

organisation are different. An OS may use
a certain method of organisation, but it is
important that not two applications can
occupy the same partition.
OPERATING SYSTEM – OS TASKS
File management tasks include:
 Defining the naming conventions which can be used e.g. filename.extension where extensions
can be .bat, .htm, .docx, .txt, .xlsx, .pdf etc.
 Performing specific tasks such as open, close, delete, rename, copy etc.

 Maintaining directory structures e.g. C:\Program Files\Java

 Ensuring access control mechanisms are maintained such as access control, password
protection, read only, locking etc.
 Specifying logical file storage formats,
such as FAT (file allocation table) for
Windows. This is dependant on the type
of disk formatter used.
 Ensuring memory allocation for a file by
reading it from the HDD/SSD and loading
it to memory.
OPERATING SYSTEM – OS TASKS
Security management ensures the integrity, confidentiality and availability of data. This can be
achieved by:
 Carrying out OS updates when they become available.

 Ensuring anti-virus (and other security software) is up to date.

 Communicating with a firewall to check all incoming and outgoing traffic.

 Making use of privileges to prevent users entering “private areas” on a computer which permits
multi-user activity. This is done by setting up password protected accounts and supports data
protection and privacy.
 Maintaining access right for all users

 Offering the ability for system restore or recovery of data if it has been lost or corrupted.

 Helping prevent illegal intrusion to the computer system.

OPERATING SYSTEM – OS TASKS
Hardware management involves all input, output and peripheral devices. Functions include:
 Communicating with all input and output devices using device drivers.

 Translating data from a file into a format the I/O device can understand using a driver.

 Ensuring each hardware source has a priority so that it can be used and released as required.

The management of I/O devices is essentially the control

management of queues and buffers. Steps taken in printer
management could be:
 Locates and loads the printer driver into memory

 Sends data to a printer buffer ready for printing

 Sends data to a printer queue (if the printer is busy or the print
job has a low priority) before sending to the print buffer
 Sends various control commands to the printer throughout
printing process.
 Receives and handles error messages and interrupts from the
OPERATING SYSTEM – OS TASKS
A process is a program which is being run a computer. Process management involves the
allocation of resources and permits the sharing and exchange of data. This allows data to be fully
synchronised, for example scheduling resources, resolving software conflicts, use of queues etc.
OPERATING SYSTEM – UTILITY SOFTWARE
Computers usually come with utility programs which are a part of the operating system. Users can,
however, install their own preferred variants of utility software in addition to factory provided
applications.

Some utility applications need to be initiated by the user, but some can be set up to run constantly in
the background such as a firewall or virus checker.

Common utility applications include:

 Hard disk formatter

 Virus checker

 Disk defragmentation software

 Disk contents analysis/disk repair software

 File compression

 Back-up software
OPERATING SYSTEM – UTILITY SOFTWARE
Hard disk formatter

An OS needs to know how the storage organisation is managed so that it can store files efficiently.
A hard disk formatter will organise storage space into partitions. A disk may have a number of
partitions for different uses or requirements.

Once partitions have been created, they must be formatted. This is done by writing filed which hold
directory data and tables of contents at the beginning of each partition. This allows the OS to
recognise a file and know where to find it on the disk surface. Different OS use different filing
systems. E.g. Windows uses FAT or NTFS.

When formatting with NTFS, all sectors are filled with zeros: these zeros are read back to test the
sector, but all previously held data will be lost. Formatting results in clearing of data from a HDD.
OPERATING SYSTEM – UTILITY SOFTWARE
Hard disk formatter

Formatters also have non-destructive checking tools that check for any bad sectors. Bad sectors
will be flagged and file tracking records will be reorganised. This is done by replacing bad sectors
with new, unused sectors – effectively repairing the fault. A damaged file will then contain an
“empty” sector which allows the file to be read although this will now be corrupted having lost the
data within the section. Files like this are often deleted.

Bad sectors can be characterised as hard or soft.

Hard bad sectors (difficult to repair) Soft bad sectors

Caused by manufacturing errors Sudden loss of power leading to corruption of some

sectors
Damage to disk surface caused by the read/write Effect of static electricity leading to corruption of
head touching the disk surface data in some sectors
System crash
OPERATING SYSTEM – UTILITY SOFTWARE
Hard disk formatter
OPERATING SYSTEM – UTILITY SOFTWARE
Virus checker
Any computational device can be subject to a virus attack. There are many obvious ways to
prevent a virus attack – avoid unknown downloads, don’t open suspicious links in emails, only use
official software etc. Virus checkers that come with OS’s still provide the best protection, provided
they are kept up to date and constantly run in the background.
Although different varieties will have differences, common antivirus software features include:
 Check software or files before they run or load on a computer

 Compares possible viruses against a database of known definitions

 Carries out heuristic checking – this is checking software for certain behaviours which
highlights new viruses which aren’t yet defined.
 Places infected files and programs into quarantine to:
 Automatically delete the virus
 Allow the user to decide about deleting the file. It is possible that the user knows the file is safe and this in turn is
known as a false positive.
OPERATING SYSTEM – UTILITY SOFTWARE
Virus checker
OPERATING SYSTEM – UTILITY SOFTWARE
Defragmentation software
As a HDD (SSD technology is slightly different) becomes full, blocks used for files can be scattered
all over the disk surface in different blocks or partitions. This happens when files are deleted,
partially deleted, extended, updated etc. This results in slower access time in retrieving all the data
that makes up a file. Therefore it would be better to rearrange file data so that they can be found in
contiguous sectors.

1. Three files (1, 2 and 3) stored on track 8. The user deletes file 2 and adds to file 1. The new
data for file 1 does not get extended on to the existing part as this will be resource heavy. So we
end up with this:
OPERATING SYSTEM – UTILITY SOFTWARE
Defragmentation software

2. File 3 is then extended with additional data, sector 9 could be filled up but the remaining will
need to be placed on an entirely different track. Continuing in this way will make file storage
incredibly inefficient and files become scattered between empty sectors on different tracks.
OPERATING SYSTEM – UTILITY SOFTWARE
Defragmentation software

3. A disk defragmenter will scan the entire HDD and reorganise file components so that blocks
of related data are stored in a contiguous way. This speeds up data access due to fewer
movements of the read/write head.

Some defragmenters also clean up by flagging any damaged data blocks to avoid data being
written to them again.
OPERATING SYSTEM – UTILITY SOFTWARE
Disk defragmenter
OPERATING SYSTEM – UTILITY SOFTWARE
Disk content analysis/repair software
The repair side of things is covered in disk defragmentation but content analysis software offers the
function of scanning a HDD to work out how much free space is available, whether any unwanted
files or downloads such as cookies and auto saving files can be removed.
OPERATING SYSTEM – UTILITY SOFTWARE
Compression software
We covered file compression in a previous unit. It is used for quicker download/upload of files.

Disk compression is much less common presently due to the volume of modern HDDs and SSDs.
Data is compressed before writing to disk and decompressed when read again. It is a high priority
utility as every application requires access to the HDD. Removal of compression utility software will
render saved data unreadable.
OPERATING SYSTEM – UTILITY SOFTWARE
Compression software
OPERATING SYSTEM – UTILITY SOFTWARE
Backup software
Making a variety of data backups is sensible. Using cloud or external HDDs are useful, but an OS
also has a backup utility. This will:
 Allow for scheduled backups to be made

 Only carry out a backup procedure if changes have been made

For maximum security there should be three versions of a file:

1. The current version stored on internal HDD/SSD

2. A locally backed up copy stored on external HDD or USB thumb drive

3. A remote backed up version stored away from the computer using cloud storage
OPERATING SYSTEM – UTILITY SOFTWARE
Backup software
Windows OS offers the following:
 The ability to restore files, data or the computer system from the backup.

 The ability to create a restore point

 Options of where to save backup files

Task: find out about Windows’ File History and Mac OS’ Time Machine.
OPERATING SYSTEM – UTILITY SOFTWARE
Backup software
OPERATING SYSTEM – PROGRAM LIBRARIES
Program libraries are used:
 When software is under development and the program can utilise pre-written subroutines in the
their own programs, therefore saving considerable development time.
 To help a software developer who wishes to use dynamic link library (DLL) subroutines in their
own program, so these subroutines must be available at run time.

If a program routine is written for a piece of software, it is common that it will be saved in a
program library for future use by other programmers – this will be known as a library program.
Library routine are subroutines that can be used in other developmental software.
OPERATING SYSTEM – PROGRAM LIBRARIES
Creating an animated panda graphic like the one shown below, could be made up of pre-existing
routines and graphics.
OPERATING SYSTEM – PROGRAM LIBRARIES
Developing software like this:
 Removes the need to rewrite many routines every single time – saving time and cost

 Leads to modular programming, which allows multiple programmers to work on the same project at
one time
 Allows for continuity with other games that may form part of a range or series – useful in educational
suites
 Offers the ability to maintain a corporate image in all software developed from a particular company

 Saves a lot of testing time as each routine has already been created and tested.

An OS has two program libraries containing programs and routines: static and dynamic.
Static libraries – components in the library are linked to the developed software at time of compilation
and library routines will be embedded directly into the new program code.
Dynamic libraries – routines are not linked to the developing software until runtime (these are the
DLLs). These are stand-alone files that are accessed only when required by the new program. The routines
may be available to several applications at the same time.
 OPERATING SYSTEM – PROGRAM LIBRARIES
When using DLL, library routines are not loaded into RAM until needed, so the memory is saved and
software runs faster. Consider word processing application with access to a printer:
 The print routine will only be called upon and run when it is required.

 The printer routine will not be stored in the main body of code as it does not need to be
constantly running or accessed.
 Only a link to the routine will be within the code.

Pros of using DLL files Cons of using DLL files

Executable code of main program is much smaller as DLL Executable code is not self contained. All DLL files must be
files are only loaded when required. available at runtime otherwise a missing .dll error will occur
and software may crash.
It is possible to make changes to the DLL files independently Any DLL linking software in the main program must be
of the main program (though changes may cause future available at runtime to allow links to DLL files to be made.
compiling issues)
DLL files can be made available to multiple applications If a DLL file has been changed (intentionally or through
simultaneously corruption), the main program may not run as expected or
crash.
OPERATING SYSTEM – QUESTIONS