Introduction to Operating System Quiz

Computer System

• A computer system consists of hardware and software components

Von Neumann Architecture

• It is a design model for computer architecture
• It consists of a central processing unit (CPU), memory, and input/output (I/O) devices

Operating System Definition

• An operating system (OS) is a set of software that manages computer hardware resources and provides common services to computer programs
• It acts as an intermediary between computer hardware and user-level applications

Computer System Operation

• The operating system manages the allocation and deallocation of system resources such as memory, CPU time, and storage
• It provides common services such as process scheduling, memory management, and I/O management

Components of a Modern OS

• Process management: creating and managing processes
• Memory management: allocating and deallocating memory
• File systems: managing files and directories
• I/O management: managing input/output operations
• Security: controlling access to system resources

Interrupt Handling

• Interrupts are events that occur outside of regular program execution
• Interrupt handling involves saving the current state of the program, determining the cause of the interrupt, and taking appropriate action

I/O Structure

• I/O devices can be categorized into block devices (e.g., disks) and character devices (e.g., keyboards)
• I/O operations can be performed using programmed I/O, interrupt-driven I/O, or direct memory access (DMA)

Storage Structure

• The storage hierarchy consists of primary storage (main memory), secondary storage (disks), and tertiary storage (tapes)
• Caching is a technique used to improve performance by storing frequently accessed data in faster, more expensive memory

Computer-System Architecture

• Computer systems can be categorized into single-processor systems, multiprocessor systems, and clustered systems
• Clustered systems consist of multiple computers connected together to achieve a common goal

Operating System Structure

• The operating system can be structured into a monolithic system, microkernel, or hybrid
• The operating system provides a set of system calls that can be used by applications to interact with the operating system

Operating System Operation

• The operating system operates in two modes: user mode and kernel mode
• Transition from user mode to kernel mode occurs when a system call is made or an interrupt occurs