Operating System

Que- Define Operating system. Discuss services/functions of operating system and

its types.

Ans- Operating System is an interface between the user and the hardware and
enables the interaction of a computer’s hardware and software.

Operating system is software which performs all the basic tasks like file
management, memory management, storage management, process management,
handling input and output, and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives
and printers.

An operating system is also known as resources managers/allocator.

The primary goal of operating system is to make computer system convenient to

use in an efficient manner.

Operating System Functions

1. Processor Management
Software that runs on a computer, whether in the background or in the frontend, is a
process.

Processor management is an execution unit in which a program operates. The

operating system determines the status of the processor and processes, selects a job
and its processor, allocates the processor to the process, and de-allocates the
processor after the process is completed.

When more than one process runs on the system the OS decides how and when a
process will use the CPU. Hence, the name is also CPU Scheduling.

The OS perform following activities:

1. Allocates and deallocates processor to the processes.

2. Keeps record of CPU status.
Certain algorithms used for CPU scheduling are as follows:

a) First Come First Serve (FCFS)

b) Shortest Job First (SJF)
c) Round-Robin Scheduling
d) Priority-based scheduling etc.
2. Memory Management
It is the management of the main or primary memory. Whatever program is executed,
it has to be present in the main memory.

Main memory is a quick storage area that may be accessed directly by the CPU.

When the program is completed, the memory region is released and can be used by
other programs.

Therefore, there can be more than one program present at a time. Hence, it is required
to manage the memory.

The operating system performs following activities:-

1. Allocates and deallocates the memory.

 2. Keeps a record of which part of primary memory is used by whom and how
much.
3. Distributes the memory while multiprocessing.
4. In multiprogramming, the operating system selects which processes acquire
memory when and how much memory they get.

[Link] Management
Operating System manages device communication via their respective drivers.

The OS perform following activities:−

1. Keeps tracks of all devices, I/O controller is responsible for this task
2. Decides which process gets the device when and for how much time.
3. Allocates the device in an efficient way.
4. De-allocates devices.
[Link] Management
The operating system manages resource allocation and de-allocation.

It specifies which process receives the file and for how long. It also keeps track of
information, location, uses, status, and so on. These groupings of resources are
referred to as file systems. The files on a system are stored in different directories.
The OS perform following activities:-

1. Keeps records of the status and locations of files.

2. Allocates and deallocates resources.
3. Decides who gets the resources.