Introduction Operating Systems

Operating Systems Examples

MacOS Windows Linux

Applications vs. Hardware

Applications Examples:

• Chrome
• Microsoft Office

• Warzone Hardware Examples:

• CPU
• SSD
• RAM

What does an Operating System do?

Has two main roles:

• Abstraction
• Resource Management

A. Abstraction: Provide standard library to access resources. What are resources? CPU, Memory, SSD, etc.

The benefits of the Operating Systems providing abstractions is that is allows applications (like Microsoft Office) to reuse common facilities. OS makes different devices look the same. It also provides a higher-level or more useful functionality. You would not want to deal with making system calls from the kernel if you’re a casual computer user.

B. Resource Management: Shares resources (e.g. CPU)

What is sharing?

Sharing Examples include: multiple users of the systems, multiple applications run by the same user, and multiple devices for the same functionality.

Then benefits of the Operating Syste providing resrouce management includes Protecting applications at a common layer, Providing efficient access to resources, and providing fair access to resources.

What are the Goals of an Operating System?

Ease of Use, Performance (fast and efficent), Isolation, Reliability, etc.

Why Study Operating Systems?

Studying OS helps you understand system performance. The behavior of the OS impacts the entire computer/machine. Its also fun to understand large and complex systems!