Topic 3a
OS Fundamentals

Learning Objectives

By the end of this topic students should be able to:

• Given one of the following vocabulary words, give a brief definition of the term and how the item applies in the normal operation of an operating system.
  
• Job
• Queue
• First-in, first out (FIFO)
• Interactive Processing
• Real-time processing
• Time-sharing
• Multiprogramming
• Multitasking
• Application software
• System software
• User Interface (Graphical User Interface)
• Shell
• Kernel
• Window manager
• File manager
• Memory manager
• Directory (folder)
• Device driver
• Scheduler
• Dispatcher
• Pages (paging)
• Virtual memory
• Read-only memory
• Boot Loader (Boot-strapping)

• Explain how a historical batch processing system functioned, using the appropriate vocabulary terms from the chapter.
• Explain how a modern multi-tasking system functions, using the appropriate vocabulary terms from the chapter.
• Given a particular task performed by the computer, identify which part(s) of the operating system would be responsible for the task.

Learning Materials

• Readings
• Section 3.1-3.2, pp 150-162 in your book
• Videos
  • Crash Course Computing #18: Operating Systems
  • Crash Course Computing #19: Memory and Storage
    • Some of this revisits material from Ch. 2, but it does so with some additional context for Operating Systems.
  • Crash Course Computing #20: Files and File Systems
    • Some of this revisits material from Ch. 1, but, like the last videos, it does so with some additional context for Operating Systems.
  • Dr. Diesburg Explains
    • Introduction to Operating Systems

 

Checking for Understanding

Answer the following questions from your textbook. The answers to all Q&E questions are in the back of your book in Appendix F.

• p 154, #2
• p 154, #3
• p 154, #4
• p 162, #1
• p 162, #2
• p 162, #3
• p 162, #4

Additional Guidance

If you are still struggling with the material in this topic, the following video may help.

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Further Information

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