1 INTRO TO OPERATING SYSTEM

OPERATING SYSTEMS LECTURE:

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION TO OPERATING SYSTEMS

Elements of a computer system: Hardware, Software, Peopleware, Communication, Data,

Types of Software: System software and application software

Type Description Examples

System Basic  SW that manages and controls hw  OS

software Software and application sw  Device drivers
 usually called OS  Disc compression
 includes utility programs/ service  Optimization sw
programs  Screen savers
 language processors  Antivirus sw
 Compilers/ interpreters
Middleware Sw that operates between OS and  Dbms
appn sw  Communication mgmt sys
 Operations m tools
 Sw development system

Application Common Sw that is used for a variety of  Word processing sw

software Application industries and work  Spreadsheet sw
Software  Cad/cam
 Statistical sw
 Graphics sw
 Groupware

Specific Sw that is used for specific industries  Payroll calc sw

Application and work  Financial accounting sw
Software  Sales mgmt sw
 Production mgmt
PURPOSE OF OPERATING SYSTEM

 provide an environment within the hardware so that users can execute their programs
 serves as a platform where other programs can run

Goal of OS

 convenience of the user

 efficiency of the system

Acts as:

 A receptionist, it handles the user interface. As the computer is booted, the first point of contact will
be the operating system. It is considered the welcoming committee which assists the user all
throughout his/her contact with the hardware.
 A dispatcher, it provides services for managing the queue of programs scheduled for processing and
activation.
 A security guard, it controls the access to the system and files. It prohibits unauthorized users
access to the system. It also prevents user from accidentally or intentionally interfering with each
other.
 A manager, it handles the efficient allocation of resources. A resource is any object that can be
allocated within the system. Examples are processor use, input/output devices, files and memory
(RAM). It performs the following tasks:

1) Monitors resources continuously

 2) Enforces policies and decides which gets what, how much and when

3) Allocates the resources

4) De-allocates the resources

 As a traffic officer, it directs the passage of data through the CPU and guides the CPU when to look
in memory, when to read or write on the data storage, when to display on screen the data or
provide a hard copy using the printer.
 As an accountant, it monitors the users who logs-on to the system, what kinds of resources are
utilized by each user, and what resources are requested by each user. In other words, it keeps track
of how a file has been accessed, who accessed it, what file, and when it was accessed.

To illustrate, below are the steps performed by the operating system when the user saves the
document she is doing:

1. The user issues a save command while using an application program such as word processor
2. The word processing application signals the operating system that a document must be saved
to a disk.
3. The operating system communicates the document to the disk device driver for saving.
4. The disk device driver controls the disk drive as it saves the document.

OPERATING SYSTEMS PLATFORM

 description of the overall standard of a computer's hw and sw

 describes the set of hardware components that make up the computer itself and where the
software is written, simply put, the hardware architecture
 In relation to software, it is an environment or a venue where other software are launched. For
example, when referring to a hardware platform, X86 (IBM PC compatible computers using the
Intel 8086 microprocessors) may be used; when describing a software platform, Microsoft
Windows XP (wintel) may be used.

Computers with the same computer architecture and operating system is usually said to be
compatible. Some operating systems platforms are enumerated.

Platform Description
Microsoft Windows  Windows collectively describes any or all
of several generations of Microsoft (MS)
operating system (OS) products developed
by Microsoft Corporation usually
categorized as 16 bit OS environment,
hybrid 16/32 bit OS, 32 bit OS
 environment, and 64 bit OS.
 Examples are Windows XP, Windows Vista,
Windows 2000, Windows 98, Windows
ME, Windows CE, windows 7, windows 8,
windows 10 etc.
Linux  A Unix-like operating systems built around
the Linux Kernel written by Linus Torvalds.
 Developed as an open source and free
software examples are BSD, GNU, MINIX,
ReactOS, Haiku, redhat, centOS, fedora,
open suse, etc.
Solaris  A Unix-Based operating system introduced
by Sun Microsystems
 New owners are now Oracle since 2000.
 Developed originally as proprietary
software but now considered a mixed
closed source / open source.
Its open sourced software is OpenSolaris
 Examples are Solaris 10, Solaris 9, Solaris
2.5, Solaris 2.0, Solaris 2.1, Solaris 2.2,
Solaris 2.3, Solaris 2.5 , Solaris 2.52, Solaris
2.6, Solaris 8, Solaris 9, Solaris 10, Solaris
11, Solaris 11.3, etc
MacOs  Graphical user interface based operating
systems developed by Apple Inc. for their
Macintosh line of computer systems.
 Compatible with both PowerPC and Intel
Processors
 considered a mixed closed source / open
source. Its open source software is
Darwin. examples are Mac OS X, Apple
DOS, A/UX, A/ROSE, Rhapsody, MkLinux,
Taligent, Lisa OS , Mac OSX 1.0, Mac OSX
10.0, Mac OSX 10.1, Mac OSX 10.2 ,Mac
OSX 10.4, MaC OSX 10.6, MaC OSX 10.6,
Mac OsX 10.8, MaC OSX 10.9 etc
Unix  Unix trademarked as UNIX) is a family of
multitasking multiuser computer OS that
derive from the original AT&TUnix,
developed in the 1970s at the Bell
Labs research center by Ken
Thompson, Dennis Ritchie and others
 Examples are unixware1.1.1,open unix,
samba, MYSQL, Ubuntu, BIND, etc
Android  Android is a mobile operating
system developed by Google, based on
the Linux kernel and designed primarily for
 touch screen mobile devices such as smart
phones and tablets
 Examples are alpha, lollipop. Candy, éclair
jellybean, gingerbread, Oreo, icecream
sandwich, Donut, Mashmellow, Froyo,
KitKat, etc latest android Q was realeased
August 2019

OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

 Sw that are freely modified and distributed by many persons used around the world
 Source code is published over the internet free of charge by the creator, making it possible for
anyone to modify or redistribute the software without infringing on copyrights
 Offers no warranty, freely redistributed without charge to encourage development of sw.

Types of oss

category oss description

Office OpenOffice org  Includes word processing
and spreadsheet sw
 Compatible with Microsoft
office data and can handle
word files, excel files.
 Composed of writer (word
proc), calc (spreadsheet),
impress (presentation sw),
draw (drawing sw), base
(database sw), math
(formula editor sw)
Internet firefox  Can display a www
browser
 Similar to internet explorer
from Microsoft
e-mail thunderbird  Sw for sending and
receiving e-mail. Similar to
outlook express
Image editing gimp  Similar to photoshop from
adobe. Does not offer an
extensive range of
standard options or design
 Can be used to create and
edit highly sophisticated
graphics.
OS Linux
Dbms (Database Management MYSQL
System)
COMPUTER RESOURCES

Resource Description Kernel’s Job

Central Processing Unit
Memory
I/O devices attached such as
mouse, keyboard, disk drives,
printer and monitor.
Files
Where program are run or
executed
Where program instructions
and data are stored. Both
should be inside the memory in
order to be processed by the
CPU. Programs usually require
more memory than what is
available.
Devices used to be able to
interact with the application
program.
Data stored on disks or other
storage devices using files.
These files are structured in a
specific ways to allow faster
access.
Takes responsibility for deciding
at any time which of the
running programs may be
allocated the processor.
Chooses on which part of the
memory each process can be
used, and decides on what to do
when there is no enough
memory available.
Grants request of users to
perform I/O using the
appropriate device and offer
convenient methods for using
these I/O devices.
Kernel should be able to access
specific file systems by
translating commands
submitted by user. Keeps track
of storage resources.

DESCRIPTION OF THE COMPONENTS OF OS

Component Description and Services

SHELL  A program(either in the kernel or as a special

system application) which forms the interface
between user and OS
 Separates the user from the OS details and
presents the OS simply as a collection of
services
 Includes the API (Application programming
Interface) a software designed to
communicate with the application software
and the user. a program code that translates
requests from an application into code that
the operating system kernel can understand
and pass on to the hardware device drivers,
 and translates data from the kernel and
device drivers so the application can use it.
 provides an interface to the BIOS.
 A program that interfaces with the OS using
CLI and/ or GUI
 Command Line Interface (CLI) features
specific commands which are needed to be
types through a keyboard to accomplish a
specific task
 Graphical User Interface (GUI) features
menus and icons which can be manipulated
by clicking the mouse.

SECONDARY STORAGE MANAGER  Performs Free space management

 Provides Storage allocation
 Carries out Disk scheduling

MEMORY MANAGER  Manages memory

 Keeps track of the memory spaces needed by
active processes and by the OS itself
 Brings in and swaps out blocks of data from
the secondary storage

PROCESS MANAGER  Allocates resources to processes

 Enables processes to share and exchange
information
 Protects the resources of each process from
other processes
 Provides facilities for process sharing and
synchronization Schedules the work done by
the processor

I/O MANAGER  Provides buffer management ( region of

memory that holds data while it is waiting to
be transferred from one device to another)
 Allocates the I/o channels to communicate
with specific device accepting commands to
and/or receive data from devices which in
turn interfaces with the OS and software
application
 Includes device manager which controls
communications with the systems peripheral
devices such as keyboard, monitor, disks,
tape drives, printers and modems.

FILE MANAGER  Service users and applications pertaining to

the use of files Provides services on:
  How to create, delete, read and change files?
 How to move data between files?
 How to back up and recover files?
 How a user may rapidly access files?
 Guarantees that the files will not be
corrupted and ensures security of access.

SECURITY MANAGER  Protects data and resources from disclosure

 Guarantees authenticity of data and
messages
 Protect systems from network based attacks
such as preventing users from accidentally or
intentionally interfering with each other.
 Provide available applications to enforce
security
 Provides tracking mechanism of requests for
access to resources

THE PROCEDURE OF LOADING THE OPERATING SYSTEM IS KNOWN AS THE BOOT PROCESS.

The process involves the following steps:

1. The boot process is activated when the computer switch is turned on.

2. The bootstrap program which resides in the ROM looks for the operating system in the hard disk.

3. The computer performs a POST (Power-On-Self-Test) that provides a diagnostic test of the computer’s
main circuitry, screen display, memory and keyboard. The POST notifies if there is a hardware problem
by issuing an error message on screen or by sending a series of beeps.

4. The operating system identifies the peripheral devices that are connected to the computer and checks
their settings.

5. OS is loaded from the hard disk to the RAM.

6. The microprocessor then reads the configuration data and executes any customized startup routines
specified by the user.

7. The computer is ready to accept user commands. It displays an operating systems prompt or a
windows desktop on the screen.