Types Of Operating Systems Flashcards
What is a distributed operating system?
Is a form of parallel processing system which spreads the loads over multiple computer servers, a single job is split up into several task and each of these is run on a separate computer, coordinate by the operating system
Which operating systems are available in distributed versions?
Linux, Unix and Windows
What is a multi-tasking operation system?
A system that may run on a standalone computer and can run many jobs simultaneously, switching between them so that each one appears to be the only one running
What are multi-user, multi-tasking operating systems?
These are time sharing system where a single powerful mainframe or supercomputer is connected to dozens or hundred of terminals all using the mainframe CPU, each getting a slice of processor time according to the scheduling algorithm
What is the term for operating systems used by smartphones, tablet and other mobile devices?
Mobile operating system
What are embedded operating systems?
These are found in all kinds of hardware that is not a computer (Washing Machine, Microwave etc) and are a specialised operating system designed to perform a specific task
What are the main features of a operating system?
It will have a minimal user interface, it will accept input from sensors and send output to control devices, there is a limited amount of RAM so complex memory management system is not required and there will not e any permanent data storage devices to be managed
What is a real-time operating system?
An operating system for real-time computing applications that processes data and events that have critically defined time constraints
What are the features of a real-time operating system?
It buys respond very quickly to any inputs or sensors, it must be able to deal with many inputs simultaneously, it must have ‘failsafe’ mechanism and must incorporate redundancy, that is if one component fails it must switch to backup hardware
What does BIOS stand for?
Basic Input Output System
What is BIOS?
Is the program stored in EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) that gets your computer started after you turn it on
What is the fundamental purpose of BIOS in modern PCs?
To initialise and test the system hardware components and to load the operating system from the hard disk to RAM, though in more modern computers BIOS is not used after loading the operating system
What is a device driver?
A computer program that provides a software interface to a particular hardware device
What does a device driver enable the operating system to do?
Access hardware functions without needing to know the details of the hardware being used
What is a virtual machine?
Any instance where software is used to take on the function of the machine, including executing intermediate code or running an operating system
