Introduction to operating system

An operating system (OS) is a collection of system programs that together control the
operation of a computer system. It contains many millions of lines of instructions
.(commands that the computer executes) written by programmers

Types of operating systems

There are many types of operating systems, the complexity of which varies depending
.upon what type of functions are provided, and what the system is being used for

Single-user- This is the type of operating system most people use on their desktop
and laptop computers today. Microsoft's Windows and Apple's Mac OS platforms are
both examples of operating systems that will let a single user have several programs
in operation at the same time. For example, it's entirely possible for a Windows user
to be writing a note in a word processor while downloading a file from the Internet
while printing the text of an e-mail message.
.
Multi-user- A multi-user operating system allows many different users to take
advantage of the computer's resources simultaneously. The operating system must
make sure that the requirements of the various users are balanced, and that each of the
programs they are using has sufficient and separate resources so that a problem with
one user doesn't affect the entire community of users.

Networked-A network operating system is an operating system that supports the

network. A network operating system typically resides on a server and controls the
devices or computers connected to the network. The examples of the network
operating system are: Windows NT Server, Windows 2000 Server, and UNIX

Single programming-A single programming operating system allows only one

program to run at a time. This means that if you are working in a spreadsheet and
want to write a memo, you must shut down the spreadsheet application and open up a
word processor.

Multi-programming-A multi-programming operating system provides the ability to

run more than one program at once. For example, a user could be running a word
processing package, printing a document, copying files to the floppy disk and backing
up selected files to a tape unit. Each of these tasks the user is doing appears to be
.running at the same time

Other Categories of Operating Systems

Operating systems are divided into categories that define their characteristics. Modern
.systems may use combinations of those described below

BATCH OS
The earliest type, allowed only one program to run at a time. The program was
entered into the computer, then run till completed. The data used by the program
could not be modified whilst the program was running. Any errors in the program or
.data mean starting all over again
TIME SHARING OS
These share the computer system amongst more than one user, and employ pre-
.emptive scheduling techniques

REAL TIME
Primarily used in process control, telecommunications, etc. The OS monitors various
inputs which affect the execution of processes, changing the computers model of the
environment, thus affecting the outputs, within a guaranteed time period (usually < 1
.(second

MULTI PROCESSING OS
A multiprocessing operating system supports two or more processors running
.programs at the same time

EMBEDDED OS
An embedded operating system means the operating system is self-contained in the
device and resident in ROM. Typical systems that use embedded operating systems
are household appliances, car management systems, traffic control systems and
.energy management systems

Functions of Operating System

Many different operating systems exit; however, most operating systems provide
similar functions. The following sections discuss functions common to most operating
systems. The operating system handles many of these functions automatically,
.without requiring any input from user

Program Management
Some operating systems support a single user and only one running program at a time.
Others support thousands of users running multiple programs. Users today typically
run multiple programs concurrently. It is common to have an e-mail program and web
browser open at all times, while working with application programs such as word
.processing or graphics

When a computer is running multiple programs concurrently, one program is in

foreground and the others are in the background. The one in the foreground is the
active program; that is, the one you currently are using. The other programs running
.but not in use are in the background

Main-Memory Management

Primary-Memory or Main-Memory is a large array of words or bytes. Each word or

byte has its own address. Main-memory provides storage that can be access directly
by the CPU. That is to say for a program to be executed, it must in the main memory.

The major activities of an operating in regard to memory-management are:

• Keep track of which part of memory are currently being used and by
whom.
• Decide which process is loaded into memory when memory space
becomes available.
• Allocate and reallocate memory space as needed.
Secondary-Storage Management

Generally speaking, systems have several levels of storage, including primary storage,
secondary storage and cache storage. Instructions and data must be placed in primary
storage or cache to be referenced by a running program. Because main memory is too
small to accommodate all data and programs, and its data are lost when power is lost,
the computer system must provide secondary storage to back up main memory.
Secondary storage consists of tapes, disks, and other media designed to hold
information that will eventually be accessed in primary storage (primary, secondary,
cache) is ordinarily divided into bytes or words consisting of a fixed number of bytes.
Each location in storage has an address; the set of all addresses available to a program
is called an address space.

The three major activities of an operating system in regard to secondary storage

management are:

1. Managing the free space available on the secondary-storage device.

2. Allocation of storage space when new files have to be written.
3. Scheduling the requests for memory access.

File Management

A file is a collected of related information defined by its creator. Computer can store
files on the disk (secondary storage), which provide long term storage. Some
examples of storage media are magnetic tape, magnetic disk and optical disk. Each of
these media has its own properties like speed, capacity, data transfer rate and access
methods.

A file system normally organized into directories to ease their use. These directories
may contain files and other directions.

The five main major activities of an operating system in regard to file management
are

1. The creation and deletion of files.

2. The creation and deletion of directories.
3. The support of primitives for manipulating files and directories.
4. The mapping of files onto secondary storage.
5. The back up of files on stable storage media.

Device Management

A driver is a small program that tells the operating system how to communicate with
a specific device. Each device on a computer, such as the mouse, keyboard, monitor,
printer and scanner, has its own specialized set of commands and thus requires its
own specific driver. When you boot a computer, the operating system loads each
device's driver. If you attach a new device to a computer, such as a printer or scanner,
its driver must be installed before you can use the device. For many devices, the
.computers operating system may include the necessary drivers
 What are Utility Programs?
Utility programs help manage, maintain and control computer resources. These
programs are available to help you with the day-to-day chores associated with
personal computing and to keep your system running at peak performance.
Some examples of utility programs include:

• Virus scanning software

• Backup software
• Scandisk
• Disk defragmenter

Virus Scanning Software are utility programs designed to protect your computer
from computer viruses. Virus scanning software is critical to uses, due to the number
of computer viruses (small computer programs created to disrupt and destroy
computer files and/or operating system software).

Virus scanning software scans your disk each time you insert it into a computer. If
you receive a warning that there is a virus suspected on your disk. If you own your
own computer, you should have a good virus scanning software package installed.
Remember - virus scanning software needs to be updated on a regular basis (usually
monthly). Updates insure that your virus scanning software will protect you from the
most recent viruses. Virus scanning packages come with directions on how to receive
updates to your software!

Backup software is software that assists you in backing up your files and even the
entire computer hard drive. It is important for you to back up your files regularly. If
you own your own computer, you should think about how to backup your valuable
data on your hard drive.

Scandisk is a utility provided with Windows computers. Scandisk scans your disks to
see if there are any potential problems on the disk, such as bad disk areas. Since disks
are magnetic media, all disks, including your hard drive can be corrupted.

Disk Defragmenter software assists you in keeps reorganizing your disk drives.
After files are saved, deleted and resaved again, the disk can become fragmented
-available space is in small blocks located throughout the disk. Disk defragmenters
gather those free spots and put them together to enable you to continue to save your
data in the most efficient manner.

APPLICATION SOFTWARE
Application software consists of programs that perform specific tasks for users.
:Application software is used for a variety of reasons

As a business tool .1
To assist with graphics and multimedia projects .2
To support home, personal and educational activities .3
To facilitate communications .4
Types of Application Software

There are five types of application software currently available in a variety of forms
.such as: packaged, customized, shareware, freeware, and public domain

Packaged software- Is mass produced, copyrighted retail software that meets the
needs of a wide variety of users, not just a single user or company. Word processing
.and spreadsheet software are examples of packaged software

Customized software- Performs functions specific to a business or industry.

Sometimes a company can not find packaged software that meets its unique
requirements. In this case, the company may use a programmer to develop tailor made
.custom software

Shareware- Is copyrighted software that is distributed free for a trial period. To use a
share program beyond that period, you send a payment to the person or company who
developed the program

Freeware- Is software provided at no cost to a user by an individual or a company y.

.Freeware is copyrighted

Public-domain software- Also is free software, but it has been donated for public use
and has no copyright restrictions. Anyone can copy or distribute public-domain
.software to others

Thousands of shareware, freeware, and public-domain programs are available on the

web for users to download. Examples of shareware, freeware and public-down
.programs include communications programs and graphics programs

SOFTWARE LICENSING

Software theft occurs when software is stolen from software manufacturers. This type
of theft is called piracy, is by far the most common form of software theft. To protect
software media from being stolen, software manufacturers issues user license
.agreements

A software License agreement is the right to use the software. That is, you do not
own the software. The license agreement provides specific conditions for use of the
software, which users must accept before using the software .These terms usually are
.displayed when you install the software

TERMINOLOGIES ASSOCIATED WITH SOFTWARE

Assembler- A program used to convert an assembly language source program into

.machine language

Assembly language-Is a programming language that produces instructions written

.using symbolic instruction codes

.Compiler- A program used to convert a source program into machine language

High-level language- Allows programmers to use words and symbols closer to human
.language to code software

Low-Level language- Requires programmers to code at a basic level that a computer

.can understand

Logic error-mistakes in the way an algorithm solves a problem

Machine language-Is a low-level language that uses binary code to interact with a
.specific computer system

Source code- contains all the commands and comments a programmer used to code
.the software

Interpreter- A program that reads a code statement, converts it to one or more

.machine language instructions, and then executes those instructions

Language Translator- Translates a program written by a programmer into machine

.language