Invitation to Computer Science 6th Edi-

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Chapter 6: An Introduction To System Software and Virtual Machines

TRUE/FALSE

1. An interface prevents accidental damage to hardware, programs, and data.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 277

2. All modern operating systems provide GUIs.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 279

3. Machine language allows only numeric memory addresses.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 282

4. Each symbolic assembly language instruction is translated into one or more machine language
instructions.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 282

5. One of the problems with machine language is that it uses binary.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 282

 6. Machine language is a high-level programming language.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 283

7. Assembly language does not allow the use of symbolic operation codes.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 283

8. One of the services provided by pseudo-ops is program construction.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 289

9. In a time-sharing system, a program can keep the processor until it initiates an I/O operation and has
run for the maximum length of time.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 321

10. Clients cannot perform local computations without access to the network.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 322

COMPLETION

1. Assemblers, compilers, and interpreters are all examples of ____________________ services.

ANS: language

PTS: 1 REF: 280

2. ____________________ labels increase the maintainability of a program.

ANS: Symbolic

PTS: 1 REF: 286

3. A(n) ____________________ character is displayed on screen to indicate that an operating system is

waiting for input.

ANS: prompt

PTS: 1 REF: 304

4. It is the responsibility of the ____________________ to safeguard the password file that stores all
valid user name/password combinations.

ANS:
OS
operating system
OS (operating system)
operating system (OS)

PTS: 1 REF: 308

 5. Typically, all requests to a(n) ____________________ operating system are prioritized.

ANS:
real time
real-time

PTS: 1 REF: 324

MODIFIED TRUE/FALSE

1. For a program to run on a naked machine, it must be represented in decimal.

_________________________

ANS: F, binary

PTS: 1 REF: 276

2. A single high-level language instruction is typically translated into many high-level language
instructions. _________________________

ANS: F, machine

PTS: 1 REF: 282

3. The variable used to determine the address of a given instruction or piece of data is called the program
counter. _________________________

ANS: F, location

PTS: 1 REF: 298

4. The user interfaces on the operating systems of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s were text oriented.
_________________________

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 304

5. Second-generation operating systems are called multiprogrammed operating systems.

_________________________

ANS: F
Third
3rd

PTS: 1 REF: 318

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. A Von Neumann computer without any helpful user-oriented features is called a(n) ____ machine.
a. distributed c. assembler
b. virtual d. naked
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: 276
 2. The ____ hides from the user the messy details of underlying hardware.
a. interface c. system software
b. operating system d. machine code
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 277

3. System software acts as a(n) ____ between the users and the hardware.
a. translator c. tester
b. intermediary d. security agent
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 278

4. The set of services and resources created by the system software and seen by the user is called a(n)
____ machine.
a. naked c. assembler
b. virtual d. Von Neumann
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 278

5. ____, such as text editors, are sometimes organized into collections called program libraries.
a. Programming tools c. Packages
b. Office tools d. Utilities
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: 280

6. In ____ language, if we insert or delete an instruction, all memory addresses following that instruction
will change.
a. assembly c. low-level programming
b. machine d. high-level programming
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 282

7. C++ and Java are examples of ____ languages.

a. low-level programming c. machine
b. high-level programming d. assembly
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 283

8. A program written in assembly language is called the ____ program.

a. virtual c. data
b. object d. source
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: 283

9. A machine language program is called the ____ program.

a. source c. data
b. object d. virtual
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 283

10. Translators for ____ are called compilers.

a. assembly language c. low-level languages
b. machine language d. high-level languages
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: 283
11. In assembly language, a(n) ____ is a name, followed by a colon, placed at the beginning of an
instruction.
a. op code mnemonic c. address field
b. comment d. label
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: 286

12. A(n) ____ invokes a service of the assembler.

a. compiler c. loader
b. pseudo-op d. operation
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 287

13. A(n) ____ operation involves the comparison of values and the subsequent use of the outcome to
decide what to do next.
a. iterative c. sequential
b. conditional d. transformer
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 291

14. The ____ problem-solving cycle involves inputting code to an assembler, translating it to machine
language, loading it into a Von Neumann computer, and executing to produce answers to the problem.
a. Von Neumann c. algorithmic
b. modern d. conditional
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 295

15. The conversion of symbolic op codes such as LOAD, ADD, and SUBTRACT to binary makes use of a
structure called the ____.
a. op code table c. loader
b. assembler d. library
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 296

16. If the op code table is sorted alphabetically, the ____ search algorithm is used to find an op code.
a. sequential c. op code
b. binary d. table
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 297

17. After all the fields of an assembly language instruction have been translated into binary, the newly
built machine language instruction and the address of where it is to be loaded are written out to a file
called the ____ file.
a. table c. data
b. source d. object
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: 300

18. Icons displayed on the screen are selected with a mouse and a button using a technique called ____.
a. windows interface c. panel interface
b. point-and-click d. command line
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 303

19. ____ operation codes are restricted to be used in the operating system or other system software.
a. Privileged c. Specialized
 b. User d. System
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 319

20. A ____-generation operating system will typically be a parallel processing operating system that can
efficiently manage computer systems containing tens, hundreds, or even thousands of processors.
a. second c. fourth
b. third d. fifth
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: 325

SHORT ANSWER

1. What are three major advantages to writing programs in assembly language rather than machine
language?

ANS:
1) Use of symbolic operation codes rather than numeric (binary) ones
2) Use of symbolic memory addresses rather than numeric (binary) ones
3) Pseudo-operations that provide useful user-oriented services such as data generation

PTS: 1 REF: 283 TOP: Critical Thinking

2. What are the four tasks to be performed by an assembler?

ANS:
1) Convert symbolic op codes to binary
2) Convert symbolic addresses to binary
3) Perform the assembler services requested by the pseudo-ops
4) Put the translated instructions into a file for future use

PTS: 1 REF: 296 TOP: Critical Thinking

3. What is the most important task of the operating system?

ANS:
The most important task of the operating system is to wait for a user command delivered via the
keyboard, mouse, finger tap, or other input device. If the command is legal, the operating system
activates and schedules the appropriate software package to process the request.

PTS: 1 REF: 304 TOP: Critical Thinking

4. How does a GUI communicate with a user?

ANS:
To communicate with the user, a GUI supports visual aids and point-and-click operations, rather than
textual commands. The interface uses icons, pull-down menus, scrolling and resizable windows, and
other visual elements and graphical metaphors that make it easier for a user to formulate requests.

PTS: 1 REF: 306 TOP: Critical Thinking

5. Briefly explain the function of the operating system as a security guard.

ANS:
 The operating system controls access to the computer and its resources. It must prevent unauthorized
users from accessing the system and prevent unauthorized users from doing unauthorized things. At a
minimum, the operating system must not allow people to access the computer if they have not been
granted permission.

PTS: 1 REF: 306-307 TOP: Critical Thinking

ESSAY

1. To make a Von Neumann computer usable, what must you create between the user and the hardware?
What must this created item do?

ANS:
To make a Von Neumann computer usable, we must create an interface between the user and the
hardware. This interface does the following things:
• Hides from the user the messy details of the underlying hardware
• Presents information about what is happening in a way that does not require in-depth knowledge of
the internal structure of the system
• Allows easy user access to the resources available on this computer
• Prevents accidental or intentional damage to hardware, programs, and data

PTS: 1 REF: 277 TOP: Critical Thinking

2. List four responsibilities of the system software.

ANS:
The system software has the following responsibilities:
• Hides the complex and unimportant (to the user) details of the internal structure of the Von
Neumann architecture
• Presents important information to the user in a way that is easy to understand
• Allows the user to access machine resources in a simple and efficient way
• Provides a secure and safe environment in which to operate

PTS: 1 REF: 278 TOP: Critical Thinking

3. What is the single most important piece of system software on the computer? Discuss its function, and
discuss at length its software packages that handle the requests of other programs.

ANS:
The program that controls the overall operation of the computer is the operating system, and it is the
single most important piece of system software on a computer. It is the operating system that
communicates with users, determines what they want, and activates other system programs,
applications packages, or user programs to carry out their requests. The software packages that handle
these requests include the following:

• User interface—All modern operating systems provide a powerful graphical user interface (GUI) that
gives the user an intuitive visual overview as well as graphical control of the capabilities and services
of the computer.
• Language services—These programs, called assemblers, compilers, and interpreters, allow you to
write programs in a high-level, user-oriented language rather than machine language and to execute
these programs easily and efficiently. They often include components such as text editors and
debuggers.
 • Memory managers—These programs allocate memory space for programs and data and retrieve this
memory space when it is no longer needed.
• Information managers—These programs handle the organization, storage, and retrieval of
information on mass storage devices such as hard drives, CDs, DVDs, flash drives, and tapes. They
allow you to organize your information in an efficient hierarchical manner, using directories, folders,
and files.
• I/O systems—These software packages allow you to easily and efficiently use the many different
types of input and output devices that exist on a modern computer system.
• Scheduler—This system program keeps a list of programs ready to run on the processor, and it
selects the one that will execute next. The scheduler allows you to have a number of different
programs active at a single time, for instance, surfing the Web while you are waiting for a file to finish
printing.
• Utilities—These collections of library routines provide a wide range of useful services either to a
user or to other system routines. Text editors, online help routines, image and sound applications, and
control panels are examples of utility routines. Sometimes these utilities are organized into collections
called program libraries.

PTS: 1 REF: 279-280 TOP: Critical Thinking

4. Describe four problems with machine language.

ANS:
• Machine language uses binary. There are no natural language words, mathematical symbols, or other
convenient mnemonics to make the language more readable.
• Machine language allows only numeric memory addresses (in binary). A programmer cannot name
an instruction or a piece of data and refer to it by name.
• Machine language is difficult to change. If we insert or delete an instruction, all memory addresses
following that instruction will change. For example, if we place a new instruction into memory
location 503, then the instruction previously in location 503 is now in 504. All references to address
503 must be updated to point to 504. There may be hundreds of such references.
• Machine language makes it difficult to create data. If a user wants to store a piece of data in memory,
he or she must compute the internal binary representation for that data item. These conversion
algorithms are complicated and time consuming.

PTS: 1 REF: 282 TOP: Critical Thinking

5. Explain what a real-time operating system does. Then give a detailed example.

ANS:
A real-time operating system manages the resources of embedded computers that are controlling
ongoing physical processes and that have requests that must be serviced within fixed time constraints.
This type of operating system guarantees that it can service these important requests within that fixed
amount of time. For example, it may guarantee that, regardless of what else it is currently doing, if an
airline collision detection message arrives, the software implementing collision avoidance will be
activated and executed within 50 milliseconds. Typically, the way that this guarantee is implemented
is that all requests to a real-time operating system are prioritized. Instead of being handled in first-
come, first-served order, they are handled in priority sequence, from most important to least important,
where “importance” is defined in terms of the time-critical nature of the request. A real-time operating
system lets passengers be uncomfortably cool for a few more seconds while it handles the problem of
avoiding a midair collision.

PTS: 1 REF: 324-325 TOP: Critical Thinking