1.5 Operating Systems 1

Question 1

What is multitasking?

Answer 1

• When you have more than one program running and open at the same time
• The processor allocates a small amount of time to each process and cycles between them
• As this happens so quickly it appears as if multiple programs are executing simultaneously

Question 2

What is memory management?

Answer 2

• The operating system handles loading programs from the hard drive into main memory (RAM)
• The operating system decides where these programs are held in memory

Question 3

What happens when the memory is full?

Answer 3

The operating system uses virtual memory

Question 4

What happens over time during memory management?

Answer 4

• The memory becomes fragmented as programs are loaded and closed because they use different amounts of memory
• The operating system must also keep track of different program fragments

Question 5

What do device drivers do?

Answer 5

Translates operating system instructions into commands that the hardware will understand

Question 6

What does each peripheral need?

Answer 6

• A device driver
• Many are already built into the operating system