Lecture Notes for Operating Systems

4 September 2003 - Introduction

1. what is an os

   1. it's a program - a big piece of software

   2. the program that manages resources

      1. resources - practically everything

      2. manages - both exploit (maximize good use) and protect (minimize bad use)

2. the three os themes - economy, protection, convenience

   1. economy - efficiently manage resources; expensive (user time) or limited (handheld power) or both (wireless transmission bandwidth)

   2. protection - levels of protection, protection against various levels of malevolence

   3. convenience - define useful abstractions

   4. pick any one

3. different choices lead to different operating systems

   1. batch - expensive machines; huge jobs

   2. timesharing - convenience; interactive jobs

   3. single user - cheap machines; no protection; not as helpful as it seems

   4. real-time - highly efficient; critical jobs

4. but aren't operating systems a done deal

   1. operating system evlove with respect to changing environments

      1. hardware - networked machines, 64 bit address spaces, mobile and other low-resource environments

      2. resources - information and rights management

      3. requirements - security

   2. automotive electronics

      1. chassis control, engine control, automatic transmission, ABS/ASR, cruise control

      2. cabin comfort, air conditioning, dashboard, trip computer, display range, radio, telephone, navigation

      3. intelligent switching, anti-finger traps, power seats, alarms

      4. cpus - 32 bits power train; 16 bits vehicle control, 8 bits body control and driver information; 4 bits, dashboard

      5. now, network them together, multiplex them, link them up to the external environment

This page last modified on 9 September 2003.