1. Introduction to Operating Systems
Definition of an Operating System: An operating system (OS) is system software that manages
computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.
History of Operating Systems: Early operating systems include batch processing systems and
time-sharing systems. Modern operating systems like Windows, Linux, and macOS are examples of
general-purpose OSs.
Types of Operating Systems: There are different types of OS, including real-time OS, distributed
OS, network OS, and mobile OS.
2. Functions of an Operating System
Process Management: OS manages processes, including process scheduling, creation, termination,
and synchronization.
Memory Management: OS handles memory allocation, paging, segmentation, and memory
protection for efficient resource utilization.
File System Management: OS manages file storage, retrieval, creation, and deletion through a
structured file system.
3. Process and Thread Management
Processes: A process is a program in execution, and OS handles its lifecycle (creation, execution,
termination).
Threads: A thread is the smallest unit of CPU scheduling, and multi-threading allows multiple
threads to execute concurrently.
Process Scheduling: OS schedules processes using scheduling algorithms like round-robin, priority
scheduling, and shortest job first.
4. Memory Management in OS
Paging and Segmentation: OS uses paging and segmentation to manage memory. Paging divides
memory into fixed-size pages, while segmentation divides memory into variable-sized segments.