Operating System Structure

BY: Mr. Zubair Hasan

Book Reference: Abraham Silberschatz-Operating System Concepts (9th,2012_12)

Operating System
 Imagine you bought a brand-new phone with no software
installed → it can’t do anything, even though hardware is
powerful. Why? (OS needed).

Another example
 OS = manager of a company.
 Hardware = employees,
 users = customers.
 Without a manager, chaos.

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Operating System Structure
 The Operating System (OS) structure refers to the way an
operating system is organized into different components or
layers, and how these components interact to provide
services.
 It is essentially the blueprint or architecture of the
operating system.
Why we need OS Structure
 Think of an OS as a city.
 Without structure—roads, zones, utilities—the city would
be anarchy.
 The structure organizes everything so people (programs)
can live and work smoothly
Why we need OS Structure
 Organization & Clarity:
Complex systems (millions of lines of code) need a clear
structure for development and maintenance.
 Modularity:
Breaking into components makes debugging, upgrading, and
adding features easier.
 Efficiency:
Proper structure ensures that processes, memory, I/O, and
files are managed with minimal overhead.
Why we need OS Structure
 Security & Stability:
Well-structured OS enforces boundaries between kernel, user,
and system processes.
 Scalability & Portability:
Easier to adapt the OS to new hardware or environments.
Operating System Services
User and other system programs

GUI batch commandline

User interfaces

System calls

program Resource
I/O operations File systems communication accounting
execution allocation

Protection and
Error detection
security
services

Operating system

hardware

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User Interface
1. Command line interface = old railway station (manual
ticket booking)
User Interface
2. Batch Interface -- commands and directives to
control those commands are entered into files, and those
files are executed
User Interface
3. Graphical User Interface = modern online ticket
booking system
Program execution
 The system must be able to load a program into memory
and to run that program.
 The program must be able to end its execution, either
normally or abnormally
I/O Operations
 A running program may require I/O, which may involve a
file or an I/O device
 Recording to a CD or DVD drive or blanking a display screen
File-system manipulation
 Programs need to read and write files and directories.
 They also need to create and delete them by name
 Search for a given file, and list file information.
 Some operating systems include permissions management
to allow or deny access to files or directories based on file
ownership.
Communications
 There are many circumstances in which one process needs
to exchange information with another process.
 Such communication may occur between processes that
are executing on the same computer or between processes
that are executing on different computer systems tied
together by a computer network.
 Two processes may read and write to a shared section of
memory, or message passing.
Error detection
 The operating system needs to be detecting and correcting
errors constantly.
 Errors may occur in
CPU and memory hardware (such as a memory error or a
power failure)
I/O devices (such as a connection failure on a network, or lack
of paper in the printer)
The user program (such as an arithmetic overflow, an
attempt to access an illegal memory location).
 Each type of error, the operating system should take the
appropriate action
 Terminate an error-causing process or return an error code to a
process
 Last option is to halt (Shut down the OS) the system
Resource allocation
 When there are multiple users or multiple jobs running at
the same time, resources must be allocated to each of
them.
 CPU cycles, main memory, and file storage may have
special allocation code
 Others (such as I/O devices) may have much more general
request and release code.
 There may also be routines (sequence of instructions
grouped together to perform a specific task.) to allocate
printers, USB storage drives, and other peripheral devices.
Accounting
 We want to keep track of which users use how much and
what kinds of computer resources. This record keeping
may be used for accounting
Protection and security
 When several separate processes execute concurrently, it
should not be possible for one process to interfere with
the others or with the operating system itself.
 Protection involves ensuring that all access to system
resources is controlled.
 Security starts with requiring each user to authenticate
himself or herself to the system
System Calls
 System Calls is the Interface between program and OS.
 Ordering food at a restaurant. User asks waiter to talk to
kitchen.
User  program
Waiter  system call
Kitchen  OS service.
Types of System Calls
1. Process control
2. File manipulation
3. Device manipulation
4. Information maintenance
5. Communications
6. Protection
Process control
 Imagine a manager (OS) hiring workers (processes). The
manager must start, monitor, suspend, or fire workers as
needed.
 Examples of System Calls:
 fork() → create a new process (hire a new worker).
 exec() → run a new program (assign a new task to a worker).
 exit() → terminate process (worker leaves job).
 wait() → wait for process to finish (manager waits for
report).
File Management
 Think of the OS as a librarian in a big library. Students
(users/programs) can’t go directly to the shelves (disk).
They must ask the librarian to open, read, or write books
(files).
 Examples of System Calls:
open() → librarian gives you a book.
read() → librarian reads part of the book for you.
write() → librarian writes notes inside the book.
close() → you return the book.
delete() → librarian removes the book from library.
Device Management
 Imagine a school computer lab with only a few printers.
The teacher (OS) must manage who can use the printer
(device) and when.
 Examples of System Calls:
request() → student asks teacher to use printer.
release() → student finishes and frees printer.
read() / write() → actually send data to printer or read
from a device.
Information Maintenance
 A student portal shows your grades, profile, and system
info. Similarly, the OS allows programs to query or update
system data.
 Examples of System Calls:
getpid() → program asks “what is my process ID?”
alarm() → set a timer (like a phone alarm).
time() → ask the OS for the current date/time.
settimeofday() → update the system clock.
Communication
 Two friends (processes) want to chat. They can either write
notes and pass through a mailbox (message-passing), or
talk directly on the phone (shared memory). The OS is like
the post office or telephone operator.
 Examples of System Calls:
pipe() → create a one-way pipe between processes.
shmget() → create shared memory.
send() / recv() → send/receive messages.
socket() → create a network communication endpoint.
Protection
 Think of a hostel with rooms. Students (processes) can only
enter their own room. The hostel warden (OS) ensures no
student enters into someone else’s room.
 Examples of System Calls:
chmod() → change file permissions (who can read/write).
umask() → set default permissions.
setuid() → allow controlled privilege change (e.g., run as
admin).
System Programs
 File management
 Status Information
 File modification
 Programming-language support
 Program loading and execution
 Communications
 Background services
Status Information
 Some programs simply ask the system for the date, time,
amount of available memory or disk space, number of
users, or similar status information.
 Print the output to the terminal or other output devices or
files or display it in a window of the GUI.
 Some systems also support a registry, which is used to
store and retrieve configuration information.
File modification
 Several text editors may be available to create and modify
the content of files stored on disk or other storage devices.
Programming-language support
 Compilers, assemblers, debuggers, and interpreters for
common programming languages (such as C, C++, Java) are
often provided with the operating system or available as a
separate download.
Programming-language support
 Compilers: Translate high-level language (C, Java, Python)
into machine code that the computer can understand.
 Assemblers: Convert assembly language (low-level code)
into machine code (binary instructions) that the CPU can
execute.
 Debuggers: Help programmers test and find errors (bugs)
in their code. You can run the program step by step,
inspect variables, and see where it goes wrong.
 Interpreters: Execute high-level code line by line, without
converting the whole program into machine code first
(unlike compilers). It works line by line: Reads the instruction
→ Translates → Executes immediately.
Program loading and execution
 Once a program is assembled or compiled, it must be
loaded into memory to be executed.
Communications
 Communication is creating virtual connections among
processes, users, and computer systems
 Communications also allow users to send messages to one
another’s screens
 Browse Web pages
 Send e-mail messages
 Log in remotely
 Transfer files from one machine to another.
Background services
 Ctrl + ALT + DEL  Task Manager  More Details
 You see a background processes list
 These processes continue to run until the system is halted
 Constantly running system-program processes are known
as services, subsystems, or daemons

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