Test 5/18 Flashcards
5 general responsibilities of the OS
processor management, memory and storage management, device management, application interface, user interface
processor management
ensure that each process and app receives enough of the processor’s time to function, use as many processor cycles for real work as is possible
memory and storage management
processes must have enough memory in which to execute, and the different types of memory must be used properly to processes can run effectively
device management
drivers manage the resources of a computer system, and is the path between the OS and interface device hardware
application programming interface
let application programmers use the capabilities of the comp and OS without having to manage the details
user interface
brings structure to the interactions between a user and the comp- gui
kinds of services and info a bus carries
clock-sets pace and keeps chips in sync,
power, address, data,
signaling-read/write, interrupts, etc.
moore’s law
every 18-24 months the complexity of computer chips and other integrated circuits doubles
relays
switches that are reliable, cheap, and use little power, but are slow
vacuum tubes
switches that are 1000 times faster than relays, but use lots of energy, generate lots of heat, and can burn out
transistor
switches that are smaller, cheaper, require less power, and are more reliable
steps of booting a PC
BIOS runs POST
BIOS reads the bootstrap loader program from boot sector and runs it
bootstrap loader starts up operating system
what is an interface and why are they important
it allows a user to interact with a computer and gives structure to it; they provide the user with access to the capabilities of the OS, but provide a model for understanding
jacquard loom/luddites
loom controlled by punch cards; people who were hostile to technology
hollerith
Hollerith tabulating machine, used for census and used punchcards- beginning of IBM and led to the first commercial data processing machines
