Operating System Notes

A computer system has many
resources that may be required to solve a problem: CPU time, memory space,
file-storage space, I/O devices, and so on. The operating system acts as the
manager of these resources
operating system is the one program running at all times on the computer�usually
called
the kernel. (Along with the kernel, there are two other types of programs:
system programs, which are associatedwith the operating systembut are not
necessarily part of the kernel, and application programs, which include all
programs not associated with the operation of the system
Mobile operating systems often include not only a core kernel

but also middleware�a set of software frameworks that provide additional
services to application developers
Device controller is a hardware whereas device driver is a software.
A device controller is a part of a computer system that makes sense of the signals
going to, and coming from the CPU.Any device connected to the computer is connected
by a plug and socket, and the socket is connected to a device controller.It
functions as a bridge between the device and the operating system.The electrical
part of an I/O device is known as a device controller and can take the form of a
chip on personal computers.
The Device Controller receives the data from a connected device and stores it
temporarily in some special purpose registers (i.e. local buffer) inside the
controller. Then it communicates the data with a Device Driver . For each device
controller there is an equivalent device driver which is the standard interface
through which the device controller communicates with the Operating Systems.
A device driver is a computer program that operates or controls a particular type

of device that is attached to a computer. A driver provides a software interface to
hardware devices.
For a computer to start running�for instance, when it is powered up or

rebooted�it needs to have an initial program to run. This initial program,
or bootstrap program, tends to be simple. Typically, it is stored within
the computer hardware in read-only memory (ROM) or electrically erasable
programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), known by the general term
firmware
It initializes all aspects of the system, from CPU registers to device

controllers to memory contents. The bootstrap program must know how to load
the operating system and how to start executing that system
To accomplish this goal, the bootstrap program must locate the operating-system
kernel andload it into memory.
Once the kernel is loaded and executing, it can start providing services to
the system and its users
Some services are provided outside of the kernel, by

system programs that are loaded into memory at boot time to become system
processes, or system daemons that run the entire time the kernel is running.
SYSTEM BUSES
The system bus is a pathway composed of cables and connectors used to carry data
between a computer microprocessor and the main
memory. The bus provides
a communication path for the
data and control signals moving between the major components of the computer
system. The system bus works by combining the
functions of the three main
buses: namely, the data, address and
control buses. Each of the three buses has its separate characteristics and
responsibilities.
The system bus connects the CPU with the main memory and, in some systems, with the
level 2 (L2) cache. Other buses, such as the IO
buses, branch off from the
system bus to provide a
communication channel between the CPU and the other peripherals.
The system bus combines the functions of the three main buses, which are as
follows:
The control bus carries the control, timing and coordination signals to manage the
various functions across the system.
The address bus is used to specify memory locations for the data being transferred.
The data bus, which is a bidirectional path, carries the actual data between the
processor, the memory and the peripherals.
The design of the system bus varies from system to system and can be specific to a
particular computer design or may be based on an
industry standard. One
advantage of using the industry
standard is the ease of upgrading the computer using standard components such as
the memory and IO devices from independent
manufacturers.
System bus characteristics are dependent on the needs of the processor, the speed,
and the word length of the data and instructions. The size of a bus, also
known as its width, determines how much
data can be transferred at a time and indicates the number of available wires. A
32-bit bus, for example, refers to 32 parallel wires or
connectors that can simultaneously transmit 32 bits.
The design and dimensions of the system bus are based on the specific processor
technology of the motherboard. This, in effect, affects
the speed of the motherboard, with faster system buses requiring that the other
components on the system be equally fast for the best
performance.
Daemon Process in UNIX
In Unix and other multitasking computer operating systems, daemon is a computer

program that runs as a background process, rather than being under the direct
control of an interactive user.
Typically daemon names end with the letter d: for example,syslogd is the daemon
that implements the system logging facility and sshd is a daemon that services
incoming SSH connections.
In a Unix environment, the parent process of a daemon is often, but not always, the
init process. A daemon is usually created by a process forking a child process and
then immediately exiting, thus
causing init to adopt the child process. In addition, a daemon or the operating
system typically must perform other operations, such as dissociating the process
from any controlling terminal (tty).
Such procedures are often implemented in various convenience routines such as
daemon in Unix.
Applications can exist in two forms; either they can or they do not take input from
the user. An application that doesn't take input from a user is called a daemon. It
does tasks without having to
involve the user, which means they either do a task at a set interval, or when a
particular program that does have a user front-end calls
the daemon to do something. The user is not involved in that
call process, and does not see or need to see what the daemon does in the
background.
FUNCTIONS OF A BOOTSTRAP PROGRAM:
i. It initialises CPU registers, device controllers and memory contents.

ii. It loads the operating system into memory and executes it.(For this it has to
locate where the kernel is located and then loads it into memory.)
The occurrence of an event is usually signaled by an interrupt from either

the hardware or the software. Hardware may trigger an interrupt at any time
by sending a signal to the CPU, usually by way of the system bus. Software
may trigger an interrupt by executing a special operation called a system call
(also called a monitor call).
The CPU can load instructions only from memory, so any programs to run must
be stored there
General-purpose computers run most of their programs from

rewritable memory, called main memory (also called random-access memory,
or RAM). Main memory commonly is implemented in a semiconductor
technology called dynamic random-access memory (DRAM).
BecauseROM cannot be changed, only static programs, such

as the bootstrap program described earlier, are stored there
EEPROM can be changed but cannot be changed frequently and so contains mostly
static programs. For example,
smartphones have EEPROM to store their factory-installed programs.
INSTRUCTION CYCLE:
The processing required for a single instruction is called an instruction cycle

Operating System Notes

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Operating System Notes

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A computer system has many

Mobile operating systems often include not only a core kernel

Device controller is a hardware whereas device driver is a software.

A device driver is a computer program that operates or controls a particular type

For a computer to start running�for instance, when it is powered up or

It initializes all aspects of the system, from CPU registers to device

Some services are provided outside of the kernel, by

Daemon Process in UNIX

In Unix and other multitasking computer operating systems, daemon is a computer

FUNCTIONS OF A BOOTSTRAP PROGRAM:

i. It initialises CPU registers, device controllers and memory contents.

The occurrence of an event is usually signaled by an interrupt from either

General-purpose computers run most of their programs from

BecauseROM cannot be changed, only static programs, such

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