Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

UNIT-1
Overview of Operating System

Introduction:
An operating system is a program that manages a computer’s hardware and
provide a basis for application programs and act as an intermediary between the
computer user and the computer hardware. Operating systems are vary based on
accomplishing the various tasks and system. Some operating system are designed
to optimize the utilization of hardware, some are design for supporting complex
games, business application and some are designed to provide simple interface
for the user. Therefore, some operating system are designed to be convenient,
other to be efficient and other to be some combination of the two.
Operating system exist because they offer a reasonable way to solve the problem
of creating a usable computing system. The fundamental goal of an operating
system is to execute user programs and to solve the user problem. To accomplish
this goal computer hardware and application software are developed. These
program require certain common operation such as those controlling the I/O
device. Thus the common function of controlling and allocating resources are
then brought together into one piece of software which is known as the operating
system.
An operating system is the one program running at all times on the computer
which is known as kernel. Along with the kernel, there are other two types of
program: system program which are associated with the operating but are not
usually part of kernel and application program which includes all the program not
associated with the operation of the system.
Operating System Goals:
• Execute the user program and to solve the user problem easily.
• Make the computer system convenient to use.
• Use the computer hardware in efficient manner.
• Proper utilization of the resources.

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 1

Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

Types of Operating System:

Operating system varies according to the uses of the computing environment.
1. Batch Operating System:
In the latter half of the 20th century, computing resources were relatively
scarce. For a period of time, system were either batch or interactive. Batch
system processed the job in bulk with predetermined input from file or
other data source. Each users do not interact with computer directly. They
prepare the job which consists of program, data and some control
information about the nature of the job and submit to the operator. The
operator then sorts the program with the similar requirements into batches.
To speed up the processing, job with the similar needs are batched together
and run as a group. Here the operator function as the OS.

Advantages:
• Low setup cost over more job.
• Keeps machine busy while programmer thinks of problem and
managing job.
Disadvantages:
• Lack of interaction between user and the job.
• Difficult to provide desired priority.
• If bugs are received, memory and register are dumped then job have
to be submitted again.
• CPU is often idle because the speed of IO device is less than CPU
processing speed.
• User have to wait for result until batches are collected and submitted.

2. Time Sharing Operating System:

Time sharing system used a timer and scheduling algorithm to cycle
processes rapidly through the CPU, giving each user a share of the
resources. Processor’s time which is shared among multiple users
simultaneously is termed as time sharing. Here the CPU executes multiple
jobs by switching among them, but the switches occurs so frequently that
the user can interact with each program while it is running. The main
objective of time sharing system is to minimize the response time. The
operating system uses the CPU scheduling and multiprogramming to
provide each user with a small portion of time. User processes and the
system processes that provide the service to the user are managed such that
each processes gets a slice of computer time.

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 2

Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

Advantages:
• Provide quick response.
• Reduce CPU Idle time
Disadvantages:
• More complex job scheduling and memory management.
• Problem of reliability.
• Problem of data communication

3. Distributed Operating System:

A distributed system is a collection of physically separate, possibly
heterogeneous computer system that are networked to provide user with
access to the various resources that the system maintains. It uses multiple
central processors to serve multiple real time application. Data processing
jobs are distributed among the processors accordingly. The processors
communicates each other through various communication line such as
buses. Some operating system generalizes the network access as a form of
file access with the detail of the networking contained in the network
interface device driver and other makes users specifically invoke network
function. Generally the system contains mix of the two. It provides less
autonomous environment.

Advantages:
• Due to resource sharing facility user at one site may be able to use
the resource available at another site.
• If one site fail, the remaining site can potentially continue operating.
• Reduction in delay in data processing.
Disadvantages:
• Harder to manage network.
• Provide less autonomous environment.

4. Network Operating System:

It is an operating system that provides feature such as file sharing across
the network along with a communication scheme that allow different
processes on different computers to exchange message. It runs on the
server and provide the capability to manage data, users, security,
application and networking function. A computer running a network

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 3

Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

operating system acts autonomously from all other computers on the

network although it is aware of the network and is able to communicate
with other networked computers.
Advantages:
• Security is server managed.
• Provides autonomous environment.
• Remote access to server is possible from different location and types
of the system.
Disadvantages:
• High cost on managing server
• Dependency on a central location for most operation.
• Regular maintenance is required.

5. Real Time Operating System:

A real time system is used when rigid time requirement have been placed
on the operation of a processor or the flow of data. A real time system has
well defined, fixed time constraints and processing must be done within
that time limit otherwise system is consider to be fail. It is the data
processing system in which time interval to process and responds the
input is small i.e. service is provided in less time. Real time operating
system are mostly used by the embedded system (such system which are
designed to perform specific function and are controlled by a specific
program for the operation).

Advantages:
• Fast response and processing time
Disadvantages:
• Fixed time constraints.

6. Open and Closed Source Operating Systems:

Open source operating system are those available in source code format
rather than as compiled binary code. For e.g. Linux is the most famous
open source operating system while Microsoft windows is a well-known
example of closed source operating system. Apple’s Mac and IOS
operating system comprises hybrid approach. Open source code is more
secure than close source code because the code are view repeatedly.

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 4

Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

Function of an Operating System:

1. Resource Management:
Operating system manages and protects all the resources that are attached
to the system such as internal external memory, tasks, application,
communication channel etc., handles and allocates resources to multiple
users or multiple program running at the same time and also manages
conflicting request for efficient and fair resource use (maximize throughput
and minimum response time). The operating system will identify at which
time which operation will be performed by the CPU, in which time memory
is used by the program and which device will be responsible to process the
incoming request.

2. Memory Management:
The main memory is the central to the operation of a modern computer
system. Main memory is a large array of bytes and each byte has its own
address. The central processor reads the instruction from the main memory
during instruction fetch cycle and both read and write data from main
memory during data fetch cycle. To improve the CPU utilization and the
speed of the computer’s response time all the program should be kept in
memory which required proper memory management.
Thus, operating system is responsible for the following activities for
memory management:
• Keeping track of which part of memory are currently being used and
who is using them.
• Deciding which processes or part of the processes and data to move
into and out of memory.
• Allocating and deallocating memory space as needed.

3. Process Management:
A program does nothing unless its instruction are executed by a CPU. A
program loaded in the memory and executing (i.e. a program in execution)
is known as process. For e.g. a word processing program being run by an
individual user on a PC is a process. A program is the passive entity, like
the contents of a file stored on disk whereas a process is an active entity.
A process can be single threaded and multi-threaded and depending on this
their execution and resource requirement are different. There might be
several process executing concurrently and the resources are either given
when it is created or allocated when it is running. So, for the proper
execution of the process their proper management is required. Thus, the

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 5

Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

operating system is responsible for the following activities in connection

with process management:
• Scheduling process and threads on CPU
• Creating and deleting both the user and system process.
• Resuming and suspending processes.
• Providing mechanism for process communication.

4. Storage Management:
To make the computer system convenient for users, the operating system
provides a uniform, logical view of information storage. A file is a
collection of related information defined by its creator. The operating
system maps the file onto the physical media and access these files via the
storage device. Computer can store information on several different types
of physical media like magnetic tape and each device has its own physical
organization. The operating system implements abstract concept of file by
managing mass-storage media such as tapes and disks. Files are normally
organized into directories to make them easier to use and when particular
file is accessed by multiple user it may be desirable to control which user
may access a file. The operating system handles both file system and mass
storage system.
Following are the function of operating system in connection to file system
and mass storage management:
• Creating and deleting file
• Creating and deleting directories
• Mapping file into secondary storage.
• Backing up file on stable storage media
• Free space management (mass storage management)
• Disk scheduling (mass storage management)
• Storage allocation (mass storage management)

5. Protection and Security:

Protection is any mechanism for controlling the access of processes or user
to the resources defined by a computer system. This mechanism must
provide means to specify the controls to be imposed and to enforce the
control. If a computer has multiple users and allows concurrent execution
of multiple processes then access to data must be regulated. Mechanism
must ensure that resources can only be operated by those process that have
gain proper authorization by operating system. By means of password and

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 6

Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

other techniques operating system prevents unauthorized access to

program and data.
A system can have adequate protection but still be prone to failure and
allow inappropriate access. For e.g. if a user’s authentication information
is stolen then his/her data could be copied or deleted although protection is
working. So, it is duty of security to prevent from external and internal
attacks (e.g. virus, worms, denial of service attack etc.). Prevention of some
of these attacks is considered to be an operating system function in some
system while other system leave it to policy or additional software.

Computer System Organization and Operation:

A modern general purpose computer system consist of one or more CPUs and a
number of device controller connected through a common bus that provide access
to the shared memory. Each device control is in charge of a specific type of device
for e.g. audio device, disk drives, video display etc.). The CPU and device
controllers can execute in parallel, competing for memory cycle. To ensure
orderly access to shared memory, a memory controller synchronizes access to the
memory.

Figure: Structure of modern computer system

When the computer is powered on or start running, an initial program is run

known as bootstrap program which is stored within the computer hardware in
ROM. Bootstrap program initialize all the aspect of the system from CPU register

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 7

Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

to device controller to memory content. To load the operating system and to start
executing the system, the bootstrap program must locate the operating system
kernel and load it into memory. Once the kernel is loaded and executing. It can
starts providing service to the system and its user.
The occurrence of any event is signaled by an interrupt from either the hardware
or the software. When the CPU is interrupted, it stops what it is doing and transfer
the execution to a fixed location which contains the starting address where the
service routine for an interrupt is located. Then the interrupt service starts and on
completion CPU resumes the interrupted computation.

Operating System Structure and Operation:

Operating system provides the environment within which program are executed.
Many operating system are interrupt driven. If there are no any process to execute,
no I/O device to service and no any users to respond then operating system sits
idle waiting for event. Events are always signaled by the occurrence of interrupt
or a trap. A trap or exception is a software generated interrupt caused either by
an error (for e.g. division by zero) or by specific request from user program. For
each type of interrupt, separate segments of code in the operating system
determines what action should be taken. To deal with the interrupt, interrupt
service routine are provided. A properly designed operating system must ensure
that an incorrect or malicious program cannot cause other programs to execute
incorrectly.
In multiprogramming system, the operating system keeps the several jobs in
memory simultaneously as shown in figure below. Generally, main memory is
too small to accommodate all the jobs so, the jobs are kept on the disk in the job
pool. Job pool consist of all the processes residing on the disk awaiting allocation
of main memory. The operating system picks and begin to execute one of the jobs
in memory. If the jobs need to wait for some other task like I/O operation then
the CPU switches to another job and so on.

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 8

Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

In the time-sharing system, the CPU executes multiple job by switching among
them. Here, the user gives instruction to the operating system using input devices
and wait for immediate result on an output devices. So the response time should
be short typically less than one second. The operating system uses the CPU
scheduling and multiprogramming to provide each user with a small portion of
time shared computer. Operating system also uses memory management, job
scheduling, CPU scheduling for managing all the jobs and loading them into
memory.

System Structure:
Operating System Service:
An operating system provides an environment for the execution of programs. I
provides certain service for the programs and for the user of the program. The
service provided are differ from one operating system to another. Following
figure shows the one view of various operating system service and how they are
interrelate. Here, service provided are divided into two set, one which is helpful
for the user and another one is for ensuring efficient operation of the system itself.

Figure: A view of operating system services

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 9

Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

Following are the operating system service that are helpful to the user:
1. User Interface:
Almost all operating system have a user interface which can take several
forms. One is command line interface (CLI) which uses the text command
and a method for entering them. Another is batch interface, in which
commands and directives to control those command are entered into files
and executed. Another is a graphical user interface (GUI) which is
commonly used now days and is a window system with pointing device to
direct I/O, choose from menus, makes selection and keyword to enter text.

2. Program Execution:
The system must be able to load a program into memory and to run that
program. The program must be able to end the execution either normally
or abnormally. These all are controlled by operating system.

3. I/O Operation:
A running program may require I/O operation which may involve file or
an I/O device and for specific device, special function may require. For
efficiency and protection user cannot control I/O devices directly so,
operating system must provide means to do I/O.

4. File-System Manipulation:
Program needs to read and file and directories. They also need to create
and delete them, search them, list the information etc. some operating
system includes permission management to allow or deny access to files or
directories based on ownership where some provides a variety of file
system to allow personal choices and to provide specific features.

5. Communication:
There are many situation in which one process needs to exchange the
information to another process and such communication may occur
between the processes that are executing in same computer or executing on
different computer tied together by some form of network.
Communication may be implemented via shared memory in which two or
more processes read and write to shared section of memory or message
passing in which packet of information in predefined formats are moved
between processes by an operating system.

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 10

Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

6. Error Detection:
The operating system needs to be detecting and correcting errors
constantly. Error may occur in the CPU and memory hardware (such as
power failure), in I/O device (such as connection failure to network, lack
of paper in printer) and in the user program (such as attempt to access an
illegal memory, over uses of CPU time). For each type of error, operating
system should take the appropriate action to ensure correct and consistent
computing. Sometimes it might terminate an error causing process or it
might halt the system if it has no choice.

Following are the set of operating system function exists for ensuring the efficient
operation of the system:
1. Resource allocation:
When there are multiple users or multiple jobs running at the same time,
resource must be allocated to each of them. The operating system manages
different types of resources. Some (such as CPU cycle, main memory) may
have special allocation code whereas other (such as I/O devices) may have
general request and release code. For the uses of best CPU time, operating
system have CPU scheduling which takes different aspect like speed of
CPU, number of register available etc.

2. Accounting:
Operating system keep track of which user uses how much and what kinds
of computer resources. This recording may be used for accounting for
accumulating usage statistics. These records may be valuable tool for
researcher who wish to reconfigure the system to improve computing
service.

3. Protection and Security:

Protection involves ensuring that all access to the system resource is
controlled. Security of the system from outsiders is also important and
security is provided by means of password to authenticate user for the
access to the system. This helps to defend from unwanted access from third
party.

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 11

Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

User and Operating System Interface:

There are several ways for user to interface within the operating system. Here, we
discuss two fundamental approaches. One is a command line interface of
command interpreter which allow user to directly enter the commands to be
performed by the operating system and another one allows a user to interface with
operating system via a GUI.
• Command Interpreters:
Some operating system include the command interpreter in the kernel
while other (window and UNIX) treat the command interpreter as a special
program that is running while a job is initiated. On the system with multiple
command interpreter the interpreter is known as shell. The main function
of command interpreter is to get and execute the user specified command
and many of the command given at this level manipulate the file like create,
delete, list, print etc.
These commands are generally implemented in two ways. In one approach,
the command interpreter itself contains the code to execute the command.
Here the command causes the interpreter to jump in the section of code that
setup the parameter and make appropriate system call. In another approach,
(used by UNIX) implement most of the command through system program.
In this case command interpreter does not understand any command and
merely uses the command to identify a file to be loaded into memory.

• Graphical User Interface (GUI):

Here, rather than entering the command, user employs mouse based widow
and menu system characterized by a desktop metaphor. A user uses mouse
to point to the application by clicking to the icon in the screen. Microsoft’s
first version of window was based on the addition of a GUI interface to the
MS-DOS operating system.
Smartphones and handheld tablets uses a touch screen interface and users
interact by making gestures on the touchscreen interface for e.g. pressing
and swiping the figures. Traditionally, UNIX system were dominated by
command line interface. Nowadays, UNIX and Linux have command line
interpreter with optional GUI interfaces.

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 12

Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

Operating System Structure:

An operating system must be engineered carefully to function properly and to be
modified easily. A common approach is to partition the task into small component
or module and should be well define portion of the system with clearly defined
input, output and functions. Following are the structure of operating system.
1. Simple Structure:
Many operating system do not have well defined structures. Such system
started as small, simple and limited systems and then grew beyond the
original scope. MS DOS is an example of such system which was written
to provide the most functionality in the least space so it was not carefully
divided into modules. The interface and level of functionality are not well
separated. Application program are able to access the basic I/O routines to
write directly to disk driver due to which it is vulnerable from malicious
attack causing whole system to be failed when user’s program fails. It was
also limited by the hardware. Following figure shows the structure.

Figure: MS-DOS Layer Structure

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 13

Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

Another example of limited structuring is the original UNIX operating

system. UNIX initially was limited by hardware functionality and consist
of two separate parts kernel and the system programs. The kernel is further
separated into a series of interfaces and device drivers. Traditional UNIX
system structure is shown in figure below:

Figure: Traditional UNIX system structure

Everything below the system call interface and above the physical
hardware is the kernel and provides the file system, CPU scheduling,
memory management etc. through system call. This bulk structure was
difficult to maintain and also the overhead in the system call interface or in
communication within kernel.

2. Layered approach:
Operating system can be broken down into smaller form with proper
hardware support due to which much more control over the computer can
be retained. A system can be made modular in many ways and one method
is the layered approach in which operating system is broken into a number
of layers (levels). The bottom layer is the hardware and the highest layer
(layer n) is the user interface. The layer consists of the data structure and
set of routines that can invoked by the higher level layers (i.e. higher layer
invoke operation on lower layer). The layers only knows what a particular
operations do, it does not need to know how the operation are implemented.
Following figure shows the structure of layered approach.

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 14

Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

Figure: A layered operating system

3. Microkernels:
This method structures the operating system by removing all non-essential
components from the kernel and implementing them as a system and user
level program. This results in smaller kernel and provide minimum process
and memory management. The main function of microkernel is to provide
communication between the client program and the various service that are
also running in the user space. Communication is provided through
message passing (message is exchanged between the process either directly
or indirectly through a common mailbox. The client program and service
never interact directly. They have to communicate indirectly by changing
message with the microkernel.
The advantage of this structure is that it makes extending of OS easier. All
services are added to user space and do not require modification of the
kernel which makes changes to be fewer. It also provide more security and
reliability since, most of the service are running as a user and if a service
fail the rest of the OS remain untouched.
The following figure shows the structure of microkernel approach.

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 15

Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

Figure: Structure of microkernel

System Calls:
System calls provide an interface to the services made available by an operating
system. These calls are generally available as routines written in C and C++.
System executes thousands of system call per second. Following example
illustrate how system call are used.
Let us consider we need to write a simple program to read data from one file and
copy them to another file. For this the program will need the name of the files at
first which can be specified in many ways. In mouse based system it can be done
by choosing the file name displayed in window. This sequence requires many I/O
system call.
Once the file name have been obtained, the program must run the input file and
create output file. This operation also required another system call. If the error
occur on processing the input file program should respond with error message,
which requires another system call. When the both files are set up we enter in a
loop that reads from the input file and writes to the output file (another system
call).
Each read and write operation must return status information regarding various
possible error conditions. This required another form of system call. Finally, after
all the entire file is copied program may closed both files and return the status
information, which requires another system call. This sequence are shown in
figure below.

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 16

Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

Figure: Example of how system call are used

Following table shows the types of system calls provided by operating system:
Types For Windows For UNIX
Process Control CreateProcess() Fork()
ExitProcess() Exit()
WaitForSingleObject() Wait()
File Manipulation CreateFile() Open()
ReadFile() Read()
WriteFile() Write()
CloseHandle() Close()
Device Manipulation SetConsoleMode() Ioctl()
ReadConsole() Read()
WriteConsole() Write()
Information GetCurrentProcessID() Getpid()
Maintenance SetTimer() Alarm()
Sleep() Sleep()
Communication CreatePipe() Pipe()
CreateFileMapping() Shm.open()
MapViewOfFile() Map()
Protection SetFileSecurity() Chmod()
InitializeSecurityDescriptor() Unmask()
SetSecurityDescriptor() Chown()

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 17

Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

Threads:
Threads like process are a mechanism to allow a program to do more than one
thing at a time. Conceptually, threads exist within the process and finer-grained
unit of execution. Thread is the basic unit of CPU utilization; it comprises a thread
id, a program counter, register set and stack. Traditionally, the thread has its own
address space and a single thread of control. This single thread of control allows
the process to perform only one task at a time. For example: user cannot
simultaneously type in character and run the spell checker at a time.
If a process has multiple thread of control, it can perform more than one task at a
time. All thread shares the same address space, global variable, set of open file,
child process, alarms and signal etc. for example: a web browser may have a one
thread displaying a image while another thread retrieving the data from the
network.
Following figure illustrate the difference between a traditional single-threaded
process and a multithreaded process.

Figure: Single threaded and multithreaded processes

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 18

Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

In multithreaded, the process will create a multiple thread for different service
request due to which multiple request can be execute in single time. Most
operating system kernel are now multithreaded. Several threads operate in the
kernel and each thread performs a specific task such as managing device,
managing memory or interrupt handling.
Following figure shows multithreaded server architecture:

Figure: Multithreaded server architecture

In multithreaded, if the single application required to perform several similar
tasks multiple thread are created for different request. For example if the web
server receives the request it creates the separate thread for client requests. Rather
than creating a separate process the server creates a new thread to service request
and resume listening for additional client request. But in single threaded, rather
than creating a separate thread, a separate process is created which provide
unnecessary overhead and also a time consuming task.
Benefits of multithreading:
• Responsiveness:
It may allow a program to continue running even if part of it is blocked
or is performing a lengthy operation which increases the responsiveness
to user. This is useful in designing the user interface.
• Resource sharing:
Process can only share resources through techniques such as shared
memory and message passing. But thread share the memory and the
resources of the process to which they belong by default. It allows
application to have several different thread of activity within the same
address space.
• Economy:

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 19

Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

Allocating memory and resources process creation is costly. Thread

shares the resources of the process to which they belong so, it is more
economical to create and context switch threads.

Multithreading Models:
Support for thread may be provided either at the user level for user thread or by
the kernel for kernel threads. User threads are supported above the kernel and are
managed without kernel support whereas kernel threads are supported and
managed directly by the operating system. A relationship must exist between user
thread and kernel threads. Following three model provides a common way to
establish such relationship:
1. Many to One Model:
This model maps many user level threads to one kernel thread. Thread
management is done by thread libraries in user space so it is efficient.
Entire process will be block if a thread makes a blocking system call. As
only one thread can access kernel at a time multiple thread are unable to
run in parallel. A thread library available for Solaris system (green thread)
and early version of java used this model.

Figure: many to one model

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 20

Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

2. One to one model:

This model maps each user thread to kernel thread and provides more
concurrency than the many to one model by allowing another thread to run
when thread makes blocking system call. It also allows multiple thread to
run in parallel on multiprocessors. The drawback is that creating a user
thread requires creating corresponding kernel thread.

Figure: one to one model

3. Many to many model:
This model multiplexes many user level thread to smaller or equal number
of kernel threads. The number of kernel thread may be specific to either a
particular application or a particular machine. Developer can create as
many user thread as necessary and corresponding kernel thread runs in
parallel on multiprocessor. When a thread performs a blocking system call
the kernel can schedule another thread for execution.
One variation of this model multiplexes many user level threads to smaller
or equal number of kernel thread. This variation is referred as two level
model which is shown in following figure:

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 21

Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

Thread Libraries:
It provides the programmer with an API for creating and managing thread. There
are two primary ways of implementing a thread library. The first approach is to
provide a library entirely in the user space with no kernel support in which all
code and data structure exist in the user space. Here invoking a function in the
library results in a local function call in user space and not a system call.
The second approach is to implement a kernel level library supported directly by
the OS. Code and data structure for the library exist in kernel space and invoking
a function in the API for the library typically results in a system call to the kernel.
Three main thread libraries are in use today: POSIX Pthread, windows and java.
Pthreads:
It refers to the POSIX standard defining an API for thread creation and
synchronization. This is a specification for thread behavior not an
implementation.
Following program shows the basic Pthread API for constructing a multithreaded
program.

#include <pthread.h>
#include <stdio.h>
int sum;
void *runner (void *param);
int main (int argc, char *argv[ ]){
pthread_t tid;
pthread_attr_t attr;

if (argc!=2){
fprintf(stderr, “usage: a.out <integer value>/n”);
return -1;
}
if(atoi(argv[1] <0){
fprintf(stderr, “%d must be >=0 \n”, atoi(argv[1]));

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 22

Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

return -1;

}
Pthread_attr_init(&attr);
Pthread_create(&tid, &attr, runner, argv[1]);
Pthread.join(tid, NULL);
Printf(“sum = %d\n”, sum);
}
void *runner (void *param){
int I, upper = atoi(param);
sum = 0;
for(i=1; i<=upper; i++){
sum +=1;
pthread.exit(0);
}
}

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 23

Operating System (Unit 1) Prepared By: Sujesh Manandhar

Note: For further materials scan following QR code:

For: BIM 8th Semester Page | 24