Chapter 2: Operating-System
Services
Operating System Concepts – 10th Edition Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne ©2018
Objectives
▪ Identify services provided by an operating system
▪ Illustrate how system calls are used to provide operating
system services
▪ Compare and contrast monolithic, layered, microkernel,
modular, and hybrid strategies for designing operating
systems
▪ Illustrate the process for booting an operating system
▪ Design and implement kernel modules for interacting with a
Linux kernel
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Operating System Services
▪ Operating systems provide an environment for execution of programs
and services to programs and users
▪ One set of operating-system services provides functions that are
helpful to the user:
• User interface - Almost all operating systems have a user
interface (UI).
Varies between Command-Line (CLI), Graphics
User Interface (GUI), touch-screen, Batch
• Program execution - The system must be able to load a program
into memory and to run that program, end execution, either
normally or abnormally (indicating error)
• I/O operations - A running program may require I/O, which may
involve I/O device
• File-system manipulation - The file system is of particular
interest. Programs need to read and write
files and directories, create and delete
them, search them, list file Information,
permission management.
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Operating System Services (Cont.)
▪ One set of operating-system services provides functions that are
helpful to the user (Cont.):
• Communications – Processes may exchange information, on the
same computer or between computers over a network
Communications may be via shared memory or through
message passing (packets moved by the OS)
Ex. Copy-paste
• Error detection – OS needs to be constantly aware of possible
errors
May occur in the CPU and memory hardware, in I/O devices, in
user program
For each type of error, OS should take the appropriate action
to ensure correct and consistent computing
Debugging facilities can greatly enhance the user’s
and programmer’s abilities to
efficiently use the system
Ex. Browser tab crash, sudden USB unplug while
using
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Operating System Services (Cont.)
▪ Another set of OS functions exists for ensuring the efficient operation
of the system itself via resource sharing
• Resource allocation - When multiple users or multiple jobs
running concurrently, resources must be allocated to each of
them
Many types of resources - CPU cycles, main memory, file
storage, I/O devices.
• Logging - To keep track of which users use how much and what
kinds of computer resources
• Protection and security - The owners of information stored in a
multiuser or networked computer system may want to control use
of that information, concurrent processes should not interfere with
each other
Protection involves ensuring that all access to
system resources is controlled
Security of the system from outsiders requires user
authentication, extends to defending external I/O devices from
invalid access attempts
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A View of Operating System Services
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Command Line interpreter
▪ CLI allows direct command entry
▪ Sometimes implemented in kernel, sometimes by
systems program
▪ Sometimes multiple flavors implemented – shells
▪ Primarily fetches a command from user and executes it
▪ Sometimes commands built-in (cd, echo), sometimes
just names of programs (chmod, ls, mv)
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Bourne Shell Command Interpreter
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User Operating System Interface - GUI
▪ User-friendly desktop metaphor interface
• Usually mouse, keyboard, and monitor
• Icons represent files, programs, actions, etc
• Various mouse buttons over objects in the interface cause various
actions (provide information, options, execute function, open
directory (known as a folder)
• Invented at Xerox PARC
▪ Many systems now include both CLI and GUI interfaces
• Microsoft Windows is GUI with CLI “command” shell
• Apple Mac OS X is “Aqua” GUI interface with UNIX kernel
underneath and shells available
• Unix and Linux have CLI with optional GUI interfaces (CDE, KDE,
GNOME)
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Touchscreen Interfaces
▪ Touchscreen devices require
new
interfaces
• Mouse not possible or not
desired
• Actions and selection based on
gestures
• Virtual keyboard for text entry
▪ Voice commands
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The Mac OS X GUI
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System Calls
▪ Programming interface to the services provided by the OS
▪ Typically written in a high-level language (C or C++)
▪ Mostly accessed by programs via a high-level Application
Programming Interface (API) rather than direct system call use
▪ Three most common APIs are Win32 API for Windows, POSIX API for
POSIX-based systems (including virtually all versions of UNIX, Linux,
and Mac OS X), and Java API for the Java virtual machine (JVM)
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Example of System Calls ▪ System call
sequence to copy the contents of one file to another file
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Why Program Using an API (Instead of System Calls)?
▪ Portability: Programs written using an API can run on different
operating systems that support the same API.
• Reduces dependence on OS-specific system calls.
• A C program using POSIX API (open(), read()) can run on Linux,
macOS, and UNIX with little or no change.
▪ Simplicity & Ease of Use: System calls are low-level, detailed, and
harder to use.
• APIs provide simpler, higher-level functions.
• Using fopen("[Link]","r") is much easier than manually handling file
descriptors via system calls.
▪ Abstraction (Details Are Hidden): Programmer does not need to
know: How system calls are implemented, How the kernel performs
the task
• API hides OS internals.
• You call print () → you don’t care how characters reach the
screen.
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Example of Standard API
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System Call Implementation
▪ Typically, a number is associated with each system call
• System-call interface maintains a table indexed according to
these numbers
▪ The system call interface invokes the intended system call in OS
kernel and returns status of the system call and any return values ▪
The caller need know nothing about how the system call is
implemented
• Just needs to obey API and understand what OS will do as a
result call
• Most details of OS interface hidden from programmer by API
Managed by run-time support library (set of functions built into
libraries included with compiler)
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API – System Call – OS Relationship
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System Call Parameter Passing
▪ Often, more information is required than simply identity of desired
system call
• Exact type and amount of information vary according to OS and
call
▪ Three general methods used to pass parameters to the OS
• Simplest: pass the parameters in registers
In some cases, may be more parameters than registers
• Parameters stored in a block, or table, in memory, and address of
block passed as a parameter in a register
This approach taken by Linux and Solaris
• Parameters placed, or pushed, onto the stack by the program and
popped off the stack by the operating system
• Block and stack methods do not limit the number or length of
parameters being passed
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Parameter Passing via Table
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Types of System Calls
▪ Process control
• create process, terminate process (end, abort)
• load, execute
• get process attributes, set process attributes (Process ID, Priority,
State, maximum allowable execution time)
• wait event (process waits for a key press), signal event (user presses
a key)
• allocate and free memory
• Dump memory if error, Debugger for determining bugs
• Locks for managing access to shared data between processes
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Types of System Calls (Cont.)
▪ File management
• create file, delete file
• open, close file
• read, write, reposition
• get and set file attributes (file name, file type, etc)
▪ Device management
• request device, release device
• read, write, reposition
• get device attributes, set device attributes
• logically attach or detach devices
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Types of System Calls (Cont.)
▪ Information maintenance: transferring information between the
user program and the operating system
• get time or date, set time or date
• get system data (version no of OS, free memory or disk), set
system data
• get and set process, file, or device attributes
▪ Communications
• create, delete communication connection
• send, receive messages if message passing model to host
name or process name
From client to server
• Shared-memory model create and gain access to memory
regions
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Types of System Calls (Cont.)
▪ Protection
• Control access to resources
• Get and set permissions
• Allow and deny user access
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Examples of Windows and Unix
System Calls
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Example: Arduino
▪ Arduino is an open-source
microcontroller platform
used
to create interactive
electronic projects by
controlling hardware
through
software.
▪ Single-tasking
▪ No operating system
▪ Programs (sketch) loaded via
USB into flash memory
▪ Single memory space ▪ Boot loader loads program ▪ Program exit ->
shell reloaded
At system startup running a program
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Example: FreeBSD
▪ Unix variant
▪ Multitasking
▪ User login -> invoke user’s choice of
shell
▪ Shell executes fork() system call to
create
process
• Executes exec() to load program
into
process
• Shell waits for process to terminate or
continues with user commands
▪ Process exits with:
• code = 0 – no error
• code > 0 – error code
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Standard C Library Example ▪ C
program invoking printf() library call, which calls write() system call
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System Services
▪ System programs provide a convenient environment for program
development and execution. They can be divided into:
• File manipulation
• Status information sometimes stored in a file
• Programming language support
• Program loading and execution
• Communications
• Background services
• Application programs
▪ Most users’ view of the operating system is defined by system
programs, not the actual system calls
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System Services (Cont.)
▪ Provide a convenient environment for program development and
execution
• Some of them are simply user interfaces to system calls; others
are considerably more complex
▪ File management - Create, delete, copy, rename, print, dump, list,
and generally manipulate files and directories
▪ Status information
• Some ask the system for info - date, time, amount of available
memory, disk space, number of users
• Others provide detailed performance, logging, and debugging
information
• Typically, these programs format and print the output to the
terminal or other output devices
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System Services (Cont.)
▪ File modification
• Text editors to create and modify files
• Special commands to search contents of files or perform
transformations of the text
▪ Programming-language support - Compilers, assemblers,
debuggers and interpreters sometimes provided
▪ Program loading and execution- Absolute loaders, relocatable
loaders, linkage editors, and overlay-loaders, debugging systems for
higher-level and machine language
▪ Communications - Provide the mechanism for creating virtual
connections among processes, users, and computer systems
• Allow users to send messages to one another’s screens, browse
web pages, send electronic-mail messages, log in remotely,
transfer files from one machine to another
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System Services (Cont.)
▪ Background Services
• Launch at boot time
Some for system startup, then terminate
Some from system boot to shutdown
• Provide facilities like disk checking, process scheduling, error
logging, printing
• Run in user context not kernel context
• Known as services, subsystems, daemons
▪ Application programs
• Don’t pertain to system
• Run by users
• Not typically considered part of OS
• Launched by command line, mouse click, finger poke
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Linkers and Loaders
▪ Source code compiled into object files designed to be loaded into any
physical memory location – relocatable object file
▪ Linker combines these into single binary executable file
• Also brings in libraries
▪ Program resides on secondary storage as binary executable
▪ Must be brought into memory by loader to be executed
• Relocation assigns final addresses to program parts and adjusts
code and data in program to match those addresses
▪ Modern general purpose systems don’t link libraries into executables •
Rather, dynamically linked libraries (in Windows, DLLs) are
loaded as needed, shared by all that use the same version of that
same library (loaded once)
▪ Object, executable files have standard formats, so operating system
knows how to load and start them
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The Role of the Linker and
Loader
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Why Applications are Operating System
Specific ▪ Apps compiled on one system usually not executable on
other operating systems
▪ Each operating system provides its own unique system calls
• Own file formats, etc.
▪ Apps can be multi-operating system
• Written in interpreted language like Python, Ruby, and interpreter
available on multiple operating systems
• App written in language that includes a VM containing the running
app (like Java)
• Use standard language (like C), compile separately on each
operating system to run on each
▪ Application Binary Interface (ABI) is architecture equivalent of API,
defines how different components of binary code can interface for a
given operating system on a given architecture, CPU, etc.
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Design and Implementation
▪ Design and Implementation of OS is not “solvable”, but some
approaches have proven successful
▪ Internal structure of different Operating Systems can vary widely ▪
Start the design by defining goals and specifications
▪ Affected by choice of hardware, type of system
▪ User goals and System goals
• User goals – operating system should be convenient to use,
easy to learn, reliable, safe, and fast
• System goals – operating system should be easy to design,
implement, and maintain, as well as flexible, reliable, error-free,
and efficient
▪ Specifying and designing an OS is highly creative task of software
engineering
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Policy and Mechanism
▪ Policy: What needs to be done?
• Example: Interrupt after every 100 seconds
▪ Mechanism: How to do something?
• Example: timer
▪ Important principle: separate policy from mechanism
▪ The separation of policy from mechanism is a very
important principle, it allows maximum flexibility if policy
decisions are to be changed later.
• Example: change 100 to 200
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Implementation
▪ Much variation
• Early OSes in assembly language
• Then system programming languages like Algol, PL/1
• Now C, C++
▪ Usually a mix of languages
• Lowest levels in assembly
• Main body in C
• Systems programs in C, C++, scripting languages like Python,
shell scripts
▪ More high-level languages are easier to port to other hardware •
But slower
▪ Emulation can allow an OS to run on non-native hardware
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Operating System Structure
▪ General-purpose OS is very large program
▪ Various ways to structure ones
• Simple structure – MS-DOS
• More complex – UNIX
• Layered – an abstraction
• Microkernel – Mach
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Monolithic Structure – Original UNIX
▪ UNIX – limited by hardware functionality, the original UNIX operating
system had limited structuring.
▪ The UNIX OS consists of two separable parts
• Systems programs
• The kernel
Consistsof everything below the system-call interface and
above the physical hardware
Providesthe file system, CPU scheduling, memory
management, and other operating-system functions; a large
number of functions for one level
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Traditional UNIX System
Structure Beyond simple but not fully layered
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Linux System Structure Monolithic
plus modular design
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Layered Approach
▪ The operating system is divided
into a number of layers
(levels),
each built on top of lower layers.
The bottom layer (layer 0), is the
hardware; the highest (layer N) is
the user interface.
▪ With modularity, layers are
selected such that each uses
functions (operations) and
services of only lower-level layers
▪ Each layer is implemented only
with operations provided by
lower-level layers. A layer does
not need to know how these
operations are implemented; it
needs to know only what these
operations do.
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Microkernels
▪ Moves as much from the kernel into user space
▪ Mach is an example of microkernel
• Mac OS X kernel (Darwin) partly based on Mach
▪ Communication takes place between user modules using
message passing
▪ Benefits:
• Easier to extend a microkernel
• Easier to port the operating system to new architectures
• More reliable (less code is running in kernel mode)
• More secure
▪ Detriments:
• Performance overhead of user space to kernel space
communication
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Microkernel System Structure
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Modules
▪ Many modern operating systems implement loadable kernel
modules (LKMs)
• Uses object-oriented approach
• Each core component is separate
• Each talks to the others over known interfaces
• Each is loadable as needed within the kernel
▪ Overall, similar to layers but with more flexible
• Linux, Solaris, etc.
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Hybrid Systems
▪ Most modern operating systems are not one pure model
• Hybrid combines multiple approaches to address performance,
security, usability needs
• Linux and Solaris kernels in kernel address space, so monolithic,
plus modular for dynamic loading of functionality
• Windows mostly monolithic, plus microkernel for different
subsystems
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Structure Key Idea Advantages Disadvantages
Monolithic All OS Very fast, efficient Hard to maintain,
Kernel services run one bug can crash
in one large system
kernel
Layered OS OS divided into Clean design, Performance
layers, each easy debugging overhead, rigid design
uses services
of lower layer
Microkernel Minimal kernel, High reliability, IPC overhead,
services run secure, modular slower
in user
space
Modular Core kernel + Flexible, Kernel still large
Kernel loadable modules efficient,
extensible
Hybrid Kernel Combination of Good Complex design
different performance +
structures modularity
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macOS and iOS Structure
Interface
Aqua - macOS
Springboard - iOS Provide API for
programming
languages
Low-level system Microkernel BSD
services: networking, UNIX kernel
security, media,
graphics
Cocoa - macOS
Cocoa touch - iOS
Mach
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Android
▪ Developed by Open Handset Alliance (mostly Google)
• Open Source
▪ Similar stack to iOS
▪ Based on modified Linux kernel
• Provides process, memory, device-driver management
• Adds power management
▪ Libraries include frameworks for web browser (webkit), database
(SQLite), multimedia, smaller libc
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Android Application Development & Runtime
▪ Android apps are mainly written in Java
▪ Android does not use standard Java API
• Google provides a separate Android API
▪ Java source code is first compiled into .class bytecode
▪ .class files are converted into .dex (Dalvik Executable) format
▪ Apps run on ART (Android Runtime)
• A virtual machine optimized for mobile devices
• Designed for low memory and limited CPU
▪ JNI (Java Native Interface): Allows Java apps to call native C/C++
code
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Android Architecture
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Building and Booting an Operating System
▪ Operating systems generally designed to run on a class of systems
with variety of peripherals
▪ Commonly, operating system already installed on purchased
computer
• But can build and install some other operating systems
• If generating an operating system from scratch
Write the operating system source code
Configure the operating system for the system on which it will
run
Compile the operating system
Install the operating system
Boot the computer and its new operating system
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System Boot
▪ When power initialized on system, execution starts at a fixed memory
location
▪ Operating system must be made available to hardware so hardware
can start it
• Small piece of code – bootstrap loader, BIOS, stored in ROM or
EEPROM locates the kernel, loads it into memory, and starts it
▪ Common bootstrap loader, GRUB, allows selection of kernel from
multiple disks, versions, kernel options
▪ Kernel loads and system is then running
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Operating-System Debugging
▪ Debugging is finding and fixing errors, or bugs and performance
tuning
▪ OS generate log files containing error information
▪ Failure of an application can generate core dump file capturing
memory of the process
▪ Operating system failure can generate crash dump file containing
kernel memory
▪ Beyond crashes, performance tuning can optimize system performance •
Sometimes using trace listings of activities, recorded for analysis •
Profiling is periodic sampling of instruction pointer to look for
statistical trends
No need to record everything, Lower overhead, Gives
a statistical picture
Kernighan’s Law: “Debugging is twice as hard as writing
the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write the code
as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart
enough to debug it.”
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Performance Tuning
▪ Improve performance by removing bottlenecks
▪ OS must provide means of computing and displaying measures of
system behavior
▪ For example, “top” program or Windows Task Manager
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