Lecture 1 Operating System An Operating System is a computer program that manages the resources of a computer.

It accepts keyboard or mouse inputs from users and displays the results of the actions and allows the user to run applications, or communicate with other computers via networked connections. Operating systems can be classified as follows: multi-user: Allows two or more users to run programs at the same time. Some operating systems permit hundreds or even thousands of concurrent users. multiprocessing : Supports running a program on more than one CPU. multitasking : Allows more than one program to run concurrently. multithreading : Allows different parts of a single program to run concurrently. real time: Responds to input instantly. General-purpose operating systems, such as DOS and UNIX, are not real-time. Operating systems provide a software platform on top of which other programs, called application programs, can run. The application programs must be written to run on top of a particular operating system. Your choice of operating system, therefore, determines to a great extent the applications you can run. For PCs, the most popular operating systems are DOS, OS/2, and Windows, but others are available, such as Linux. Components Process Management Main Memory Management File Management I/O System Management Secondary Management Networking Protection System Command-Interpreter System Intro to Kernel A kernel is the lowest level of easily replaceable software that interfaces with the hardware in your computer. It is responsible for interfacing all of your applications that are running in user mode down to the physical hardware, and allowing processes, known as servers, to get information from each other using inter-process communication (IPC). Intro to File System in Unix Unix keeps track of files and directories of files using a file system. When you log in to your Unix account, you are placed in your "home" directory. Your home directory thus becomes your "present working directory" when you log in. In your home directory, you can create files and subdirectories. And in the subdirectories you create, you can create more subdirectories. The commands that you issue at the Unix prompt relate to the files and folders and resources available from your present working directory. You certainly use and can refer to resources

outside of your current working directory. To understand how this works, you need to know how the Unix file system is structured. Features of Unix multi-tasking: more than one program can be run at a time Portability: The system is written in high-level language making it easier to read, understand, change and, therefore move to other machines. The code can be changed and complied on a new machine. Customers can then choose from a wide variety of hardware vendors without being locked in with a particular vendor. Machine-independence: The System hides the machine architecture from the user, making it easier to write applications that can run on micros, mins and mainframes. Multi-User Operations: UNIX is a multi-user system designed to support a group of users simultaneously. The system allows for the sharing of processing power and peripheral resources, white at the same time providing excellent security features. Hierarchical File System: UNIX uses a hierarchile file structure to store information. This struture has the maximum flexibility in grouping information in a way that reflects its natural state. It allows for easy maintenance and efficient implementation. UNIX shell: UNIX has a simple user interface called the shell that has the power to provide the services that the user wants. It protects the user from having to know the intricate hardware details. Pipes and Filters: UNIX has facilities called Pipes and Filters which permit the user to create complex programs from simple programs. Utilities: UNIX has over 200 utility programs for various functions. New utilities can be built effortlessly by combining existing utilities. Software Development Tools: UNIX offers an excellent variety of tools for software development for all phases, from program editing to maintenance of software