CSC141: Introduction to Operating Systems Chapter One

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Questions and Answers

What is the primary function of an operating system?

To manage application programs

To provide internet connectivity

To act as a user interface

To manage the computer's hardware (correct)

What are the four components of a computer system?

Operating system, application programs, user, and internet

Hardware, operating system, application programs, and network

Hardware, operating system, application programs, and user (correct)

Hardware, application programs, user, and database

What is the role of the operating system in a computer system?

To control the hardware and coordinate its use (correct)

To provide a user interface

To manage the network

To execute application programs

What is an example of hardware in a computer system?

Central Processing Unit (CPU) Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of application programs in a computer system?

To define the ways in which hardware resources are used Signup and view all the answers

What is the main concern of the operating system?

The operation and control of I/O devices Signup and view all the answers

What is the operating system's role in relation to the user?

To act as an intermediary between the user and the hardware Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of operating systems?

They vary greatly in their makeup Signup and view all the answers

What did Moore's Law predict?

The number of transistors on an integrated circuit would double every 18 months Signup and view all the answers

What is a real-world example of a device that uses an operating system?

Smartphone Signup and view all the answers

What was the primary purpose of early computers?

Military and governmental uses Signup and view all the answers

What is the fundamental goal of computer systems?

To execute programs and make solving user problems easier Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of application programs?

To perform common operations, such as I/O control Signup and view all the answers

What is the operating system composed of?

The kernel, system programs, and application programs Signup and view all the answers

What is the kernel?

The program running at all times on the computer Signup and view all the answers

What is a common definition of an operating system?

The program running at all times on the computer Signup and view all the answers

What are the two most prominent mobile operating systems?

Google's Android and Apple's iOS Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of middleware in an operating system?

To provide additional services to application developers Signup and view all the answers

What is the main objective of an operating system?

To allow the computer system resources to be used in an efficient manner Signup and view all the answers

What is a computer system composed of?

One or more CPUs, device controllers, and peripherals Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of a device controller?

To move data between peripheral devices and local buffer storage Signup and view all the answers

What is a feature of a device controller?

It has a set of special-purpose registers Signup and view all the answers

What is an operating system responsible for?

Managing system resources Signup and view all the answers

What is an important aspect of an operating system's design?

To permit the effective development of new system functions Signup and view all the answers

When the CPU is interrupted, what does it do?

It stops what it is doing and immediately transfers execution to a fixed location Signup and view all the answers

What contains the starting address of the interrupt service routine?

The fixed location Signup and view all the answers

Why are interrupts handled quickly?

Because they occur very frequently Signup and view all the answers

What is used to provide the necessary speed for interrupt handling?

A table of pointers to interrupt routines Signup and view all the answers

Where is the table of pointers to interrupt routines typically stored?

In low memory Signup and view all the answers

What is indexed by a unique number given with the interrupt request?

The interrupt vector Signup and view all the answers

What must the interrupt architecture save and restore?

The state information of the interrupted computation Signup and view all the answers

Why must the interrupt routine explicitly save and restore the current state?

Because it needs to modify the processor state Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of a device driver in an operating system?

To provide a uniform interface to devices Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of a memory controller in a computer system?

To synchronize access to shared memory Signup and view all the answers

How does a device controller inform the device driver that it has finished its operation?

By generating an interrupt Signup and view all the answers

What is the main purpose of interrupts in an operating system?

To facilitate communication between devices and the CPU Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of the device driver in managing I/O operations?

It loads registers in the device controller Signup and view all the answers

What is the system bus used for in a computer system?

To facilitate communication between devices and the CPU Signup and view all the answers

What happens when a device controller completes its operation?

It generates an interrupt to the CPU Signup and view all the answers

What is the result of a device driver's operation when it is a read operation?

It returns a pointer to the data Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Overview of Operating System

An operating system is system software that manages a computer's hardware and provides a basis for application programs.
It acts as an intermediary between the computer user and the computer hardware.
Operating systems are everywhere, from cars and home appliances to smartphones, personal computers, enterprise computers, and cloud computing environments.

What Operating Systems Do

A computer system can be divided into four components: hardware, operating system, application programs, and user.
The hardware provides the basic computing resources, such as the central processing unit (CPU), memory, and input/output (I/O) devices.
The operating system controls the hardware and coordinates its use among the various application programs for the various users.
It is especially concerned with the operation and control of I/O devices.

Moore's Law

In the 1960s, Moore's Law predicted that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit would double every 18 months.
This prediction has held true, leading to computers gaining in functionality and shrinking in size, resulting in a vast number of uses and a vast number and variety of operating systems.

Operating System Concept

Computing started as an experiment to determine what could be done and quickly moved to fixed-purpose systems for military and governmental uses.
The fundamental goal of computer systems is to execute programs and make solving user problems easier.
The operating system is a piece of software that brings together the common functions of controlling and allocating resources.

Middleware

Middleware is a set of software frameworks that provide additional services to application developers.
It supports databases, multimedia, and graphics, among other features.
The operating system includes the kernel, middleware frameworks, and system programs that aid in managing the system while it is running.

Main Objectives of an Operating System

An OS can be thought of as having three objectives:
- Convenience: An OS makes a computer more convenient to use.
- Efficiency: An OS allows the computer system resources to be used in an efficient manner.
- Ability to evolve: An OS should be constructed to permit the effective development, testing, and introduction of new system functions without interfering with service.

Computer-System Organization

A modern general-purpose computer system consists of one or more CPUs and a number of device controllers connected through a common bus.
Each device controller is in charge of a specific type of device, and more than one device may be attached to a controller.

Device Driver

Operating systems have a device driver for each device controller.
The device driver understands the device controller and provides the rest of the operating system with a uniform interface to the device.

Basic Operations of OS

Interrupts: A signal sent by a hardware or device controller to the CPU, usually via the system bus, requesting an I/O resource or indicating the completion of an execution.
Interrupts are used for many other purposes as well and are a key part of how operating systems and hardware interact.

Interrupts

When the CPU is interrupted, it stops what it is doing and immediately transfers execution to a fixed location.
The interrupt service routine executes, and on completion, the CPU resumes the interrupted computation.
Interrupts must be handled quickly, as they occur very frequently.
A table of pointers to interrupt routines can be used to provide the necessary speed.
The interrupt routine is called indirectly through the table, with no intermediate routine needed.

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Description

This quiz covers the basics of operating systems, including their functions, concepts, and objectives. It introduces Moore's Law and computer system organization, and explains the role of middleware in OS.