Week 1 Flashcards
What is an operating system?
An operating system is software that:
- Provides a basis for application programs
- Acts as an intermediary between the user and the hardware
(1)
What are the three main responsibilities of an operating system?
- Memory management
- Storage, I/O, file management
- Process management
(Week 1 lecture 1)
What are the four components of a computer system?
- Hardware
- Operating system
- Application programs
- User
(1.1)
What is the role of hardware in a computer system?
Hardware provides basic computing resources for the system
(1.1)
What is the role of application programs in a computer system?
Application programs define ways that resources are used to solve users’ computing problems
(1.1)
What is the role of an operating system in a computer system?
An operating system controls hardware and coordinates its use among the various application programs for users
(1.1)
What three “elements” form a computer system?
- Hardware
- Software
- Data
(1.1)
True or False?
An operating system is useless by itself.
True
An operating system provides an environment where other programs can do useful work. (1.1)
What is the goal of an operating system for a user?
An operating system provides ease of use, with some performance and security. Resource utilization is not a point of focus for the user. (1.1.1)
Where does the operating system sit in an abstraction of a computer system?
User
Application programs
Operating system
Hardware
(1.1.1)
What is the goal of an operating system for the system?
From the computer’s point of view, the operating system is most involved with the hardware. The operating system manages resources and how to best allocate them to programs and users to maximize efficiency. (1.1.2)
What is a control program?
A control program manages the execution of user programs to prevent errors and improper use of the computer, especially with the operation of I/O devices. (1.1.2)
True or false?
A control program is an example of an operating system.
False
An operating system is a control program. (1.1.2)
What is Moore’s Law?
Proposed in the 1960’s, Moore’s Law predicted that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit would double every 18 months. (1.1.3)
What is the fundamental goal of computer systems?
Computer systems execute programs and make solving user problems easier. (1.1.3)
What is a kernel?
A kernel is another name for operating system, and is one program what is running at all times on the computer. (1.1.3)
What is a system program?
System programs are associated with the operating system but are not part of the kernel (1.1.3)
What is an application program?
An application program is any program that is not associated with the operation of the system (1.1.3)
What is middleware?
Middleware is a set of software frameworks that provide additional services to application developers (1.1.3)
What is a device driver?
A device driver understands the device controller and provides the rest of the operating system with a uniform interface to the device (1.2)
True or false?
The CPU and device controllers can execute in parallel.
True
A memory controller synchronizes access to the memory.
What are interrupts?
An interrupt is an event that is triggered at any time by sending a signal to the CPU via a system bus
What functions are common in an interrupt?
The interrupt must:
- Transfer control to the appropriate interrupt service routine
- Invoke a generic routine to examine the interrupt information
- Call the interrupt-specific handler
What kind of storage is used to store pointers to interrupt routines?
A table of pointers to the memory addresses of the interrupt routines is used.
This table is commonly stored in low memory (towards the beginning of the memory)
What is used to index the table of pointers to provide the address of the interrupt service routine for the interrupting device?
An interrupt vector is used.
True or false?
The state of the system before the interruption does not need to be saved.
False
The interrupt architecture must save the state information of whatever was interrupted, so that it can restore this information after servicing the interrupt.
If the interrupt routine needs to modify the processor state, it must save the current state and then restore that state before returning.
