#1- intro to os Flashcards
CPU Hardware Capabilities
Machine instructions perform operations on contents of registers and memory locations.
Main Memory Hardware Capabilities
Physical memory is a linear sequence of addressable bytes or words that hold programs and data.
Secondary Storage Hardware Capabilities
Disk and other secondary storage devices are multi-dimensional structures, which require complex sequences of low-level operations to store and access data organized in discrete blocks.
I/O Device Hardware Capabilities
I/O devices are operated by reading and writing registers of the device controllers.
CPU User Needs
The user thinks in terms of arrays, lists, and other high-level data structures, accessed and manipulated by corresponding high-level operations.
Main Memory User Needs
The user must manage a heterogeneous collection of entities of various types and sizes, including source and executable programs, library functions, and dynamically allocated data structures, each accessed by different operations.
Secondary Storage User Needs
The user needs to access and manipulate programs and data sets of various sizes as individual named entities without any knowledge of the disk organization.
I/O Device User Needs
The user needs simple, uniform interfaces to access different devices without detailed knowledge of the access and communication protocols.
CPU Examples of the Hardware
CPU (ALU + Control Unit)
Main Memory Examples of the Hardware
DRAM, RAM, registers, cache
Secondary Storage Examples of the Hardware
hard-disk drives (HDDs) and nonvolatile memory devices (NVM)
I/O Device Examples of the Hardware
disc/tapes, bluetooth, screen/keyboard/mouse
1st Gen Enabling Hardware Technology
Vacuum Tubes
2nd Gen Enabling Hardware Technology
Transistors
3rd Gen Enabling Hardware Technology
Integrated circuits allowed development of microchips
4th Gen Enabling Hardware Technology
Very Large Scale integration (VLSI) allowed complete microprocessor on a single chip, which led to PCs
