Operating Systems

Introduction
Timothy Kivumbi

06/10/2024 Uganda Technology and Management University

 Introduction
Week 1 Introduction to Operating Systems Basic concepts, functions of OS, history,
components
Week 2 Operating System Structures Interrupts, system calls, memory structure
Week 3 Process Management -Threads Types, benefits, creation, user and kernel threads

Week 4 Process Management- Scheduling CPU Scheduling

Week 5 Process Management- Synchronization Process Synchronization
Week 6 Storage Management- Deadlocks Deadlocks, introduction, locking, prevention, detection,
handling, recovery

Week 7 Storage Management-Memory management, swapping, multi programming, paging, allocation

Virtual memory virtual memory, segmentation, thrashing, caching,
replacements
Week 8 Device management: I/O Systems, serial and parallel devices, abstracting,
buffering, performance, DMA, recovery, hand-held
devices

Week 9 Other topics, Course revision and summary.

Introduction
 Computer applications today require a single machine to perform many
operations and the applications may compete for the resources of the machine.
 This demands a high degree of coordination
 This coordination is handled by system software known as the operating
system

06/10/2024
 Operating system
 A program that acts as an intermediary between a user of a computer and the
computer hardware.
 An OS is a program which acts as an interface between computer system users
and the computer hardware.
 Without an operating system, a computer is just a collection of components
heating up the room as no-one would be able to make any practical use of the
machine.
 An OS is a special computer program (software) that controls the computer
(hardware).

06/10/2024
Quite a number

06/10/2024
Operating system goals
 Execute user programs and make solving user problems easier.

 Make the computer system convenient to use.

 Use the computer hardware in an efficient manner.

06/10/2024
 Operating System Definition

 OS is a resource allocator
 Manages all resources
 Decides between conflicting requests for efficient and fair resource
use
 OS is a control program
 Controls execution of programs to prevent errors and improper use of
the computer
 Types of Operating Systems:
• Single-User, Single-Tasking:
• Supports one user and allows running only one program at a time (e.g., early personal
computers).
• Single-User, Multi-Tasking:
• Supports one user and allows running multiple programs concurrently (e.g., modern desktop
operating systems like Windows or macOS).
• Multi-User:
• Supports multiple users simultaneously, each running multiple programs (e.g., server operating
systems).
• Real-Time:
• Designed for time-sensitive applications where quick response is critical (e.g., embedded
systems, aerospace systems).

06/10/2024 Academic Editing Proofreading Service

 Examples of Mainstream Operating Systems:
 According to the application fields:
 desktop OS, server OS, and embedded OS
 According to the number of supported users:
 single user OS (MSDOS) and multiple user OS (Unix, Linux, and Windows)

 According to the openness of source code:

 open-source OS (Linux and Unix) and non-open-source OS (Windows and Mac
OS)
 According to the handling modes:
 batch processing system (DOS), time-sharing system (Linux, UNIX, Mac OS,
and Windows), real-time OS

06/10/2024 Academic Editing Proofreading Service

 Computer Startup
 bootstrap program is loaded at power-up or reboot
 Typically stored in ROM or EPROM, generally known as
firmware
 Initializes all aspects of system
 Loads operating system kernel and starts execution
 Computer system Structure
Computer system can be divided into four components
1. Hardware – provides basic computing resources (CPU, memory, I/O devices).
2. Operating system – controls and coordinates the use of the hardware among the various
application programs for the various users.
3. Applications programs – define the ways in which the system resources are used to solve
the computing problems of the users (compilers, database systems, video games, business
programs).
4. Users (people, machines, other computers).

06/10/2024
 Computer system components

06/10/2024
Parts of an operating system
The operating system has four main parts: 
1. The kernel
2. The device drivers
3. The user interface
4. The system utilities

06/10/2024
The kernel
 The OS program running at all times is the kernel, starts when OS
is loaded
 This has the task of loading the applications into memory, making
sure they do not interfere with one another and allowing them to
share use of the CPU efficiently.
 The kernel also handles file storage to and from secondary storage
devices such as hard disks and optical drives.
 In other words the kernel handles:
 Loading / Unloading applications from memory
 Scheduling tasks to run on the CPU
 Memory management
 File management
 Data security

06/10/2024
The device drivers
 Every piece of hardware that makes up the computer or connected
to it, will have a device driver that allows the operating system to
control and communicate with it.
 There could be hundreds of device drivers pre-installed with the
operating system, and the right ones for that particular computer
set-up is loaded on boot-up.

 Manufacturers of printers, graphics tablets, scanners, digital

cameras and so on, will normally provide device drivers for each
make of operating system.
 A device driver for Windows is different from the device driver for
Linux

06/10/2024
The user interface
 This part of the operating system is directing what you see on the
screen (via the device driver) and reacting to your key presses and
other inputs.

 The user interface could be a basic command line interface, as you

might find on a server, or it might be a full blown Graphical User
Interface (GUI) such as the Mac OS X, Windows or perhaps Gnome
on Linux.

06/10/2024
The system utilities
System utilities are software tools or programs that help manage and maintain various aspects
of an operating system. They provide functionality to perform tasks such as system monitoring,
diagnostics, optimization, and troubleshooting
This part of the operating system provides all the basic facilities that run in the background
without user interaction.
For example,
 Print spool services

 Cryptographic password management.

 File management services

06/10/2024
OS importance
 The operating system is the most important program that runs on
a computer.

 Operating systems perform basic tasks, such as

recognizing input from the keyboard, sending output to the display
screen, keeping track of files and directories on the disk, and
controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers.
 Every general-purpose computer must have an operating system to
run other programs and applications.

06/10/2024
Evolution of processing systems

 Batch systems
 Multiprogramming and Time-sharing systems
 Personal systems
 Parallel systems
 Distributed systems
 Cluster and Grid Computing Systems
 Real time systems

06/10/2024
 Read about these systems and write a
short description for submission as
indicated on the platform

Be clear to indicate the pros and cons in

each category.

06/10/2024 Academic Editing Proofreading Service

Operating System Components
 Process Management,
 Memory Management,
 Secondary Storage Management,
 File Management,
 Protection System,
 Networking,
 User interface
 Process Management
 Process - fundamental concept in OS
 Process is a program in execution.
 Process needs resources - CPU time, memory, files/data and I/O devices.
 OS is responsible for the following process management activities.
 Process creation and deletion
 Process suspension and resumption
 Process synchronization and interprocess communication
 Process interactions - deadlock detection, avoidance and correction

22
 Memory Management
 Main Memory is an array of addressable words or bytes that is quickly
accessible.
 Main Memory is volatile.
 OS is responsible for:
 Allocate and deallocate memory to processes.
 Managing multiple processes within memory - keep track of which parts of
memory are used by which processes. Manage the sharing of memory
between processes.
 Determining which processes to load when memory becomes available.

23
 Secondary Storage and I/O Management

 Since primary storage is expensive and volatile, secondary storage is

required for backup.
 Disk is the primary form of secondary storage.
 OS performs storage allocation, free-space management and disk scheduling.
 I/O system in the OS consists of
 Device driver interface that abstracts device details
 Drivers for specific hardware devices

24
 File System Management

 File is a collection of related information defined by creator - represents

programs and data.

 OS is responsible for
 File Creation and Deletion: The OS provides APIs to create, delete, and manipulate files.
 File Access and Permissions: The OS controls file access rights and permissions,
ensuring data security.
 File System Navigation: The OS allows traversal of file directories and provides utilities for
file and directory management.
 File I/O Operations: The OS facilitates reading from and writing to files, handling data
transfer between memory and storage devices.

25
 Protection and Security
 Protection mechanisms control access of programs and processes to user and
system resources.
 Protect user from himself, user from other users, system from users.
 Protection mechanisms must:
 Distinguish between authorized and unauthorized use.

 Specify access controls to be imposed on use.

 Provide mechanisms for enforcement of access control.

 Security mechanisms provide trust in system and privacy

 authentication, certification, encryption etc.

26
 Network Services

 OS is responsible for
 Network Configuration: The OS allows configuration of network settings, including IP
addresses and DNS.
 Network Security: The OS includes firewall, encryption, and authentication
mechanisms for secure network communication.

27
 User Interface
 The OS provides user interaction within a computer system.
 Command-Line Interface (CLI): The OS provides a text-based interface
for executing commands and interacting with the system.
 Graphical User Interface (GUI): The OS offers a visual interface with
windows, icons, menus, and pointers (WIMP interface).
 Window Management: The OS manages windows, allowing users to
manipulate and organize application windows.
 Input Handling: The OS processes user input from devices like
keyboards, mice, and touchscreens.

28
 End of lecture

06/10/2024 Uganda Technology and Management University