Operating Systems

An Operating System (OS) is an interface between a computer user and computer hardware. An
operating system is a software which performs all the basic tasks like file management, memory
management, process management, handling input and output, and controlling peripheral devices
such as disk drives and printers.

Some popular Operating Systems include Linux Operating System, Windows Operating System,
VMS, OS/400, AIX, z/OS, etc.

Definition
An operating system is a program that acts as an interface between the user and the computer
hardware and controls the execution of all kinds of programs.

Following are some of important functions of an operating System.

 Memory Management
 Processor Management
 Device Management
 File Management
 Security
 Control over system performance
 Job accounting
 Error detecting aids
 Coordination between other software and users

Memory Management
Memory management refers to management of Primary Memory or Main Memory. Main
memory is a large array of words or bytes where each word or byte has its own address.

Main memory provides a fast storage that can be accessed directly by the CPU. For a program to
be executed, it must in the main memory. An Operating System does the following activities for
memory management −

 Keeps tracks of primary memory, i.e., what part of it are in use by whom, what part are
not in use.
 In multiprogramming, the OS decides which process will get memory when and how
much.
 Allocates the memory when a process requests it to do so.
 De-allocates the memory when a process no longer needs it or has been terminated.

Processor Management
In multiprogramming environment, the OS decides which process gets the processor when and
for how much time. This function is called process scheduling. An Operating System does the
following activities for processor management −

 Keeps tracks of processor and status of process. The program responsible for this task is
known as traffic controller.
 Allocates the processor (CPU) to a process.
 De-allocates processor when a process is no longer required.

Device Management
An Operating System manages device communication via their respective drivers. It does the
following activities for device management −

 Keeps tracks of all devices. Program responsible for this task is known as the I/O
controller.
 Decides which process gets the device when and for how much time.
 Allocates the device in the efficient way.
 De-allocates devices.

File Management
A file system is normally organized into directories for easy navigation and usage. These
directories may contain files and other directions.

An Operating System does the following activities for file management −

 Keeps track of information, location, uses, status etc. The collective facilities are often
known as file system.
 Decides who gets the resources.
 Allocates the resources.
 De-allocates the resources.

Other Important Activities

Following are some of the important activities that an Operating System performs −

 Security − By means of password and similar other techniques, it prevents unauthorized

access to programs and data.
 Control over system performance − Recording delays between request for a service and
response from the system.
 Job accounting − Keeping track of time and resources used by various jobs and users.
 Error detecting aids − Production of dumps, traces, error messages, and other
debugging and error detecting aids.
  Coordination between other software and users − Coordination and assignment of
compilers, interpreters, assemblers and other software to the various users of the
computer systems.

Concept of kernel
Kernel is central component of an operating system that manages operations of computer and
hardware. It basically manages operations of memory and CPU time. It is core component of an
operating system. Kernel acts as a bridge between applications and data processing performed at
hardware level using inter-process communication and system calls.

Kernel loads first into memory when an operating system is loaded and remains into memory
until operating system is shut down again. It is responsible for various tasks such as disk
management, task management, and memory management.

It decides which process should be allocated to processor to execute and which process should be
kept in main memory to execute. It basically acts as an interface between user applications and
hardware. The major aim of kernel is to manage communication between software i.e. user-level
applications and hardware i.e., CPU and disk memory.

Objectives of Kernel :

 To establish communication between user level application and hardware.

 To decide state of incoming processes.
 To control disk management.
 To control memory management.
 To control task management.

Concept of Shell

In computing, a shell is a computer program which exposes an operating system's services to a

human user or other program. In general, operating system shells use either a command-line
interface (CLI) or graphical user interface (GUI), depending on a computer's role and particular
operation. It is named a shell because it is the outermost layer around the operating system.

Command-line shells require the user to be familiar with commands and their calling syntax, and
to understand concepts about the shell-specific scripting language (for example, bash).
Graphical shells place a low burden on beginning computer users, and are characterized as being
easy to use. Since they also come with certain disadvantages, most GUI-enabled operating
systems also provide CLI shells.

Concept of System Calls

In computing, a system call is the programmatic way in which a computer program requests a
service from the kernel of the operating system it is executed on. A system call is a way for
programs to interact with the operating system. A computer program makes a system call
when it makes a request to the operating system’s kernel. System call provides the services of
the operating system to the user programs via Application Program Interface(API). It provides an
interface between a process and operating system to allow user-level processes to request
services of the operating system. System calls are the only entry points into the kernel system.
All programs needing resources must use system calls.

Services Provided by System Calls:

1. Process creation and management

2. Main memory management
3. File Access, Directory and File system management
4. Device handling(I/O)
5. Protection
6. Networking, etc.

Types of System Calls : There are 5 different categories of system calls –

1. Process control: end, abort, create, terminate, allocate and free memory.
2. File management: create, open, close, delete, read file etc.
3. Device management
4. Information maintenance
5. Communication