Lecture Notes for Operating Systems

1 September 1999

These are provisional lecture notes, expect changes.

  1. What is an operating system?

    1. Provide protection.

    2. Manage resources.

    3. Implement virtual or extended machines - abstractions.

  2. History

    1. First generation - 45-55; hardware, little software.

    2. Second generation - 55-65; batch, serial computing.

    3. Third generation - 65-80; timesharing, parallel computing.

    4. Fourth generation - 80-now;

  3. Concepts - operating system as interface

    1. Program-machine interface - processes, files, interrupts

    2. Human-machine interface - shells

  4. System Calls - the program-machine interface.

    1. processes, signals, i-o, timers, ...

  5. Operating system types.

    1. general - unix.

    2. real-time - hpux.

    3. transaction - tandem.

    4. embedded - qnx.

    5. distributed - amoeba.

    6. emerging - www.

  6. Operating system structure.

    1. monolithic - os360, unix.

    2. layered systems - the the system, multics.

    3. microkernels - mach, NT.

    4. virtual machines - os370, emulation mode.

    5. distributed - cambridge ring.

This page last modified on 2 September 1999.