What is OS-

OS bridges the gap between user and computer H/w.

It manages each and every component of computer whether it is S/W or H/W.
Mastering Computer means thorough understanding of OS and vice verse.

OS is like manager of a organization that manages its all type of resources (components) to give best result. (Like
manager of a hotel who manages human and material resources in such a way to serve guest efficiently)
A computer is basically consists of – files,devices, memory and CPUs
OS controls every file, device, every byte of memory and every processing moment (time) of CPU.
When user gives command to computer- OS makes arrangement to get it executed. In case it is not possible it gives
error message with possible cause of error.

OS is not H/W (like manager is not hotel). It is a software- a complex software having different modules- process
manager, memory manager, device manager, file manager, network manager etc.
Ring diagram-
innermost is base metal (H/W), next is OS and utilities, then comes application software. The outermost ring is
user.
Application software- games, A/V programmes, data base software, web application, etc.
System utilities- command interpreter, compiler, editor, debuggers etc.
OS modules- process scheduler, file system, resource allocator, device and memory managers etc.

User communicates to computer through User Command Interface (UCI). There are different UCI for different OS.
For example GUI(graphical user interface) and CLI(command line interface)

Each manager – monitors respective resources , determine who gets what, when and how much based on system
wide policies, allocate the resources and de-allocate them after use.

Process manager- Decide how/when to allocate CPU to a process. Keep tracks of the processes.
A process is an instance of execution state of a programme.
It monitors whether CPU is executing or waiting for data. It allocates the CPU, set up
necessary data structures (registers, tables), when job finished or allocation time
expires- reclaims the CPU, save the current context for future use.
It has two parts- job scheduler(high level)- accept or reject incoming jobs in system
process scheduler(low level)-which process gets CPU and how long
Memory manager- It check validity of each request for memory access. Keep track of allocated and
free memory blocks. Allocates a portion of free memory to a process. Memory is
reclaimed from low priority process to allocate to high priority process. It protects
the memory of OS .
Device manager- Monitor activities of each I/O device. It allocate the system devices like KB, monitor,
disk printer etc as per the system policies and user requirement. It allocate device ,
start it, initialize it.
File manager- Keep track of every file in system. Put restriction who has a access right to which file.
What users are permitted to do with files – R/W/X. Allocates file by opening it and
de-allocate it by closing the file.
Network manager- make connection to other devices,hosts (within or outside). Maintains session,
encryption/decryption translation mapping of data, synchronization of connection, error check, simplex,half/full
duplex connection. Exchange of data as per protocols.

Example-how we run a command in CLI

device manager receives electrical signal from KB. Decodes the Keys and sends code to CLI
CLI sends it to process manager, which interrupts the running process, sends input message to device
manager to display the key. This continues until ENTER pressed.
Now process manager interprets the running process - find the file by that (input) name – either in memory or in
storage. If in memory start new process.
If not in memory , sends information to file manager, which (if found) calculates its address in storage and with
help of memory manager loads this programme in memory and informs process manager.
Process manager gets this process executed and using the device manager gives the output , for example displays
on monitor or printer or storage.
At any point in this execution flow when any manager finds error , process manager displays the error message
either waits for next command or resume the previously running process(es).

It is hard to define the OS as it covers many role and functions. Different users see it in different way-some of the
roles-
A programme- which invokes H/W function for user using system library
Control prog- control the devices and executes programmes
Software interface-behaves like abstract virtual machine
A programming environment- provides application prog. To simplify computing
Resource manager- optimize system performance by managing system resources
Service provider-provide services like file manager, deice manager, network, memory process scheduler etc.

OS implements virtual m/c over complex m/c which is easier to programme the bare H/W.
It provides standard services- process management, CPU scheduling, memory management, file system,
networking etc in abstract form.
It coordinates multiple entities- application, CPU and users- in fair and efficient manner.

Goal of OS is make m/c convenient (software engg. problem) to user and efficient (system engg prob)
Gives illusion of infinite resources (CPU time and memory) – abstraction
It is trade off between- performance and convenience and simplicity of OS
functionality between h/w and s/w
It is common interaction point where h/s, s/w prog. language, data structure , data structures etc come together.

OS provides-
each user with illusion of a dedicated m/c with infinite memory and CPU time
allocate resources fairly and efficiently, protect users from each other
provides safe and secure communication
provides services to every one
keep the system simple for maintenance
always available , never breakdowns, and succeeds

Modern OS functionality-
concurrency- multiple processes at once; processes can communicate; processes may access (mutually exclusively)
resources; CPU scheduling, resource management
memory management- allocate memory to processes, move process between memory and disk.
File system- allocate space for storage of programs and data on disk.
Networking and distributed computing- communication between computer and shared processing using shared
resources and data located at different place.
Security and protection- keep the security and confidentiality of data and protect the system from malicious
activities.