Components of an Operating Systems
There are two basic components of an Operating System.
Shell
Shell is the outermost layer of the Operating System and it handles the interaction with the user. The main task of the Shell is the management of interaction between the User and OS. Shell provides better communication with the user and the Operating System Shell does it by giving proper input to the user it also interprets input for the OS and handles the output from the OS. It works as a way of communication between the User and the OS.
Kernel
The kernel is one of the components of the Operating System which works as a core component. The rest of the components depends on Kernel for the supply of the important services that are provided by the Operating System. The kernel is the primary interface between the Operating system and Hardware.
Functions of Kernel
The following functions are to be performed by the Kernel.
- It helps in controlling the System Calls.
- It helps in I/O Management.
- It helps in the management of applications, memory, etc.
Types of Kernel
There are four types of Kernel that are mentioned below.
- Monolithic Kernel
- Microkernel
- Hybrid Kernel
- Exokernel
For more, refer to Kernel in Operating System.
Difference Between 32-Bit and 64-Bit Operating Systems
| 32-Bit Operating System | 64-Bit Operating System |
|---|---|
| 32-Bit OS is required for running of 32-Bit Processors, as they are not capable of running on 64-bit processors. | 64-Bit Processors can run on any of the Operating Systems, like 32-Bit OS or 64-Bit OS. |
| 32-Bit OS gives a low efficient performance. | 64-Bit Operating System provides highly efficient Performance. |
| Less amount of data is managed in 32-Bit Operating System as compared to 64-Bit Os. | A large amount of data can be stored in 64-Bit Operating System. |
| 32-Bit Operating System can address 2^32 bytes of RAM. | 64-Bit Operating System can address 2^64 bytes of RAM. |
The fundamental goals of operating system are:
- Efficient use: Ensure efficient use of a computer’s resources.
- User convenience: Provide convenient methods of using a computer system.
- Non interference: Prevent interference in the activities of its users.
- Efficient use:
An operating system must ensure efficient use of the fundamental computer system resources of memory, CPU, and I/O devices such as disks and printers. Poor efficiency can result if a program does not use a resource allocated to it. Efficient use of resources can be obtained by monitoring use of resources and performing corrective actions when necessary. However, monitoring use of resources increases the overhead, which lowers efficiency of use. In practice, operating systems that emphasize efficient use limit their overhead by either restricting their focus to efficiency of a few important resources, like the CPU and the memory, or by not monitoring the use of resources at all, and instead handling user programs and resources in a manner that guarantees high efficiency.
2.User convenience:
In the early days of computing, user convenience was synonymous with bare necessity—the mere ability to execute a program written in a higher level language was considered adequate. Experience with early operating systems led to demands for better service, which in those days meant only fast response to a user request. Other facets of user convenience evolved with the use of computers in new fields. Early operating systems had command-line interfaces, which required a user to type in a command and specify values of its parameters. Users needed substantial training to learn use of the commands, which was acceptable because most users were scientists or computer professionals. However, simpler interfaces were needed to facilitate use of computers by new classes of users. Hence graphical user interfaces (GUIs) were evolved. These interfaces used icons on a screen to represent programs and files and interpreted mouse clicks on the icons and associated menus as commands concerning them. In many ways, this move can be compared to the spread of car driving skills in the first half of the twentieth century. Over a period of time, driving became less of a specialty and more of a skill that could be acquired with limited training and experience.
3.Non interference:
A computer user can face different kinds of interference in his computational activities. Execution of his program can be disrupted by actions of other persons, or the OS services which he wishes to use can be disrupted in a similar manner. The OS prevents such interference by allocating resources for exclusive use of programs and OS services, and preventing illegal accesses to resources. Another form of interference concerns programs and data stored in user files.
Introduction of Operating System – Set 1
An operating system acts as an intermediary between the user of a computer and computer hardware. The purpose of an operating system is to provide an environment in which a user can execute programs conveniently and efficiently.
An operating system is software that manages computer hardware. The hardware must provide appropriate mechanisms to ensure the correct operation of the computer system and to prevent user programs from interfering with the proper operation of the system. A more common definition is that the operating system is the one program running at all times on the computer (usually called the kernel), with all else being application programs.
An operating system is concerned with the allocation of resources and services, such as memory, processors, devices, and information. The operating system correspondingly includes programs to manage these resources, such as a traffic controller, a scheduler, a memory management module, I/O programs, and a file system.