Observations on the development of an operating system

Proceedings. The Sixth Workshop on Hot Topics in Operating Systems (Cat. No.97TB100133), 1997

We believe it is time to reexamine the operating system's role in computing. Operating systems exist to create an environment in which compelling applications come to life. They do that by providing abstractions built on the services provided by hardware. We argue that advances in hardware and networking technology enable a new kind of operating system to support tomorrow's applications. Such an operating system would raise the level of abstraction for developers and users, so that individual computers, file systems, and networks become unimportant to most computations in the same way that processor registers, disk sectors, and physical pages are today.

2012

Computers are a very important part of our lives and the major reason why they have been such a success is because of the excellent graphical operating systems that run on these powerful machines. As the computer hardware is becoming more and more powerful, it is also vital to keep the software updated in order to utilize the hardware of the system efficiently and make it faster and smarter. This paper highlights some core issues that if dealt with in the operating system level would make use of the full potential of the computer hardware and provide an excellent user experience.

Introduction to Operating System, 2020

A computer system has many resources (hardware and software), which may be require to complete a task. The commonly required resources are input/output devices, memory, file storage space, CPU etc. The operating system acts as a manager of the above resources and allocates them to specific programs and users, whenever necessary to perform a particular task. Therefore operating system is the resource manager i.e. it can manage the resource of a computer system internally. The resources are processor, memory, files, and I/O devices. An operating system is the interface between the user and the machine. Before there were operating systems, people only used computers using analog signals and digital signals. Along with the development of knowledge and technology, at this time there are various operating systems with their respective advantages.

1992

This paper proposes the new structure for an operating system in an open and mobile computing enviromnent. The structure is characterized by object/metaobject separation, metahieraxchy, and object migration. We then present the practical implementation of the Apertos operating syste~n based on the proposed structure, where reflectors are introduced for metaobject programming and MetaCore for providing the common primitives. We also present some measurement results of the Apertos operating system.

Proceedings of IEEE 4th Workshop on Workstation Operating Systems. WWOS-III

2019

This paper presents a comparative survey of three well known operating systems which are Windows, Linux, and Macintosh. The basic criteria for studying them are mostly focusing on the fundamental memory and file management, architecture, security, versatility and other topics. These topics are being compared in this paper. This research study gives us an overview of the main topics and on the various similarities and differences in the basic use of operating systems. Every operating system has its own set of differences in the composition and structure of the operating system and this study focuses on the underlying strengths and weaknesses of each operating system.

Communications of the ACM, 1976

The main features of a general purpose multiaccess operating system developed for the CDC 6400 at Berkeley are presented, and its good and bad points are discussed as they appear in retrospect. Distinctive features of the design were the use of capabilities for protection, and the organization of the system into a sequence of layers, each building on the facilities provided by earlier ones and protecting itself from the malfunctions of later ones. There were serious problems in maintaining the protection between layers when levels were added to the memory hierarchy; these problems are discussed and a new solution is described.

Fundamental concepts are introduced in simple terms. • The associations between techniques and concepts are readily established. • Numerous examples are included to illustrate concepts and techniques. • Implementation details and case studies are organized as small capsules spread throughout the text. xvi Preface xvii • Optional sections are devoted to advanced topics such as deadlock characterization, kernel memory allocation, synchronization and scheduling in multiprocessor systems, file sharing semantics, and file system reliability. The key benefit of this approach is that concepts, techniques, and case studies are well integrated, so many design and implementation details look "obvious" by the time the reader encounters them. It emphasizes the most important message an operating systems text can give to students: A concept-based study of operating systems equips a computer professional to comprehend diverse operating system techniques readily. • Preview of the Book The last section of the first chapter is a brief preview of the book that motivates study of each chapter by describing its importance within the overall scheme of the operating system, the topics covered in the chapter, and its relationships with other chapters of the book. xviii Preface and Windows, respectively, except when features of a specific version such as Linux 2.6 or Windows Vista are being discussed. Tests of Concepts A set of objective and multiple-choice questions is provided at the end of each chapter so that the reader can test his grasp of concepts presented in the chapter. Exercises Exercises are included at the end of each chapter. These include numerical problems based on material covered in the text, as well as challenging conceptual questions that test understanding and also provide deeper insights.

An operating system mediates among application programs, utilities, and users, on the one hand, and the computer system hardware on the other. To appreciate the functionality of the operating system and the design issues involved, one must have some appreciation for computer organization and architecture. Chapter 1 provides a brief survey of the processor, memory, and Input/Output (I/O) elements of a computer system. The topic of operating system (OS) design covers a huge territory, and it is easy to get lost in the details and lose the context of a discussion of a particular issue. Chapter 2 provides an overview to which the reader can return at any point in the book for context. We begin with a statement of the objectives and functions of an operating system. Then some historically important systems and OS functions are described. This discussion allows us to present some fundamental OS design principles in a simple environment so that the relationship among various OS functions is clear. The chapter next highlights important characteristics of modern operating systems. Throughout the book, as various topics are discussed, it is necessary to talk about both fundamental, well-established principles as well as more recent innovations in OS design. The discussion in this chapter alerts the reader to this blend of established and recent design approaches that must be addressed. Finally, we present an overview of Windows, UNIX, and Linux; this discussion establishes the general architecture of these systems, providing context for the detailed discussions to follow.