Important Functions And Services Of Operating System

Operating System perform two basically unrelated functions , extending the machine and managing resources -

1.The Operating System as an Extended Machine - The function of Operating System is to present the user with the equivalent of an extended machine or virtual machine that is easier to program than the underlying hardware .

2.The Operating System as a Resource Manager - Internally an operating system acts as a manager of resources of the computer system such as processor , memory , files and I/O devices .In this role , the operating system keeps track of the status of each resource , and decides who gets a resource , for how long , and when .
In systems that support concurrent execution of programs , the operating system resolves conflicting requests for resources in a manner that preserves system integrity , and in so doing attempts to optimize the resulting performance .

 

An Operating System provides an environment for the execution of programs .It provides certain services to programs and to the users of those programs .Some of the services are been discussed below -

1 ...

I/O Operations - A running program may require I/O .This I/O may involve a file or an I/O device .For efficiency and protection , users control I/O devices directly.Generally , the program that requires I/O , specifies only a function the rest of the work is handled by operating system .

2 ...Works as a Resource Allocator - When multiple users are logged on the system or multiple jobs are running at the same time , resources must be allocated to each of them .Various types of resources are managed by operating system .Some may have special allocation code , whereas others may have much more general request and release code .

3...File-system Manipulation - Programs need to read and write files .Programs also need to create and delete files by name , all managed by operating system .

4...Error Detection - The operating system constantly needs to be aware of possible errors .Errors may occur in the CPU , memory hardware , in I/O device , and in user programs .It is duty of operating system that display appropriate message whenever an error occurs and takes the suitable action for ensuring correct and consistent computing .

5...Communication - If more than one programs are running on same computer , then there are many instances , when one process needs to exchange information with another process .Thus operating system performs the process of communication through message passing .

6...Protection - Protection involves ensuring that all access to system resource is controlled .When several disjoint programs execute concurrently it should not possible for one process to interfere with the others , or with operating system .Security of the system from the outsiders is also important .Such security starts with the user having to authenticate himself to the system , usually by means of a password to be allowed access to the resources .


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