Operating Systems Introduction and Objectives Quiz

Operating System Purpose

• Manages computer hardware and software resources.
• Provides common services for computer programs.
• Acts as an intermediary between users and hardware.

Computer System Components

• Hardware (CPU, memory, storage, peripherals).
• Software (operating system, applications).
• Firmware (BIOS, embedded systems).

The Kernel

• Core of the operating system.
• Responsible for managing system resources.
• Interacts directly with hardware.

Operating System Examples

• Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS.

System Software Classification

• System software includes the operating system and other programs that manage and control computer hardware and software resources.

Non-Operating System Objective

• Application-specific tasks (e.g., word processing, game playing). Operating systems provide a platform for these, not the tasks themselves.

Computer Architecture Area

• Central Processing Unit (CPU).
• Input/Output (I/O) systems.
• Random Access Memory (RAM). These are part of the system architecture. This is also sometimes referred to as the von Neumann architecture.

Memory Management Role

• Allocates and deallocates memory to processes.
• Prevents processes from interfering with each other's memory.
• Manages virtual memory (swapping between RAM and secondary storage).

Processor Management

• Allocates CPU time to processes.
• Schedules process execution to optimize performance.
• Handles context switching between processes.

System Calls Involving System Programs

• System calls that interact with system programs (e.g., file system calls).

Activities NOT Handled by the OS

• Application-specific tasks (e.g., computations within a spreadsheet program). The OS provides services to run these apps, but doesn't do the app's direct work.

I/O Controller Function

• Manages data transfer between I/O devices and memory.
• Handles device interrupts and error conditions.
• Translates requests into device-specific commands.