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Questions and Answers
What is the primary purpose of the segment descriptor tables?
What is the primary purpose of the segment descriptor tables?
- To ensure that segments always have the same size
- To keep track of the total number of segments
- To directly manage the execution of subroutines
- To map segment numbers to physical addresses (correct)
What information does a logical address in a segmented program contain?
What information does a logical address in a segmented program contain?
- The physical memory location
- Only the segment number
- A unique identifier for each program
- The segment id and word id pair (correct)
What role does the memory management unit play in a segmented memory system?
What role does the memory management unit play in a segmented memory system?
- It combines segments into a single unit of memory
- It maps logical addresses to physical addresses (correct)
- It allocates memory based on segment size
- It determines the execution order of segments
How does segmentation contribute to memory organization?
How does segmentation contribute to memory organization?
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What initiates the fetching of segments to main memory during program execution?
What initiates the fetching of segments to main memory during program execution?
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Study Notes
Segmentation in Memory Management
- Segmentation is the mechanism used to divide a program into logical units called segments.
- Segments can include subroutines, arrays of data, symbol tables, or user programs.
- A logical address consists of a segment number and an offset within that segment.
- Segment tables are used to map segment numbers to physical addresses, similar to page tables in paging.
- Segment sizes can vary, requiring bounds checks to ensure offsets are within the segment boundaries.
- Each program's segment table is pointed to by a dedicated hardware register called the segment table address register.
- Segments reside in a shared virtual address space, identified by their names and lengths.
- Segments can be stored in main memory or auxiliary storage (typically disk memory).
- The operating system's memory control mechanism automatically fetches segments from auxiliary storage to main memory as needed by running programs.
- Segmentation aims to increase the address space available for user programs while providing a structured program organization and access control.
- It enables protection mechanisms to restrict access to segments and enforce security within a multi-user environment.
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