Chapter 8 - Types of Operating System (1.2) Flashcards
What is a distributed operating system?
OS that runs across multiple devices and allows the load to be spread over multiple processors when a task is run
What is a multi-tasking operating system?
Enables user to carry out tasks as if they’re simultaneous by using time slicing to switch quickly between programs and applications in memory
What is a multi-user operating system?
Multiple users make use of one computer within a multi-user system, so a scheduling algorithm is needed to ensure processor time is shared fairly between jobs
What is an embedded operating system?
Performs a small range of specific tasks as the OS is built to be catered towards a specific device
What are some advantages and disadvantages of embedded operating systems? (2)
Advantage - Consumes less power than other operating systems
Disadvantage - Limited in their functionality and hard to update
What is a real-time operating system?
Performs a task within a guaranteed time frame
When would you need to use a real-time operating system?
Any situation where a response within a certain time period
is crucial to safety
What features must a real-time operating system have? (4)
- Must respond quickly to any inputs or sensors
- Deal with many inputs simultaneously
- Failsafe mechanisms that detect when a hardware component fails and takes appropriate action
- Redundancy - If one component fails then it must switch to backup hardware
What does BIOS stand for and what is it?
Basic Input/Output System, it’s the first program that runs when a computer system is turned on and is repsonsible for various key tests before the OS is loaded into memory
What is a device driver?
Computer programs provided by the OS and allow it to interact with hardware
What is a virtual machine?
A theoretical computer (it has a software implementation of a computer system), provides an environment with a translator for intermediate code to run.
