LO4 OPERATING SYSTEM System software Input/output control Controls and co-ordinates all the data which enter

er the system through input devices i.e accepts all the data which enter the system and store them in temporary locations until used for processing Controls and co-ordinates all the data which leave the system through output devices i.e. holds the results of processing (information) in temporary locations until they are sent to the proper output device. Unwanted data / erroneous data or data that block the data streams are removed by "flushing" the data streams File management Creating, renaming, cut, copy, paste, sort, display, delete files and folders Maintains a log of a all the files and folders in the system by maintaining the root directory Helps to "partition" the physical disk drives (HDD) i.e. create logical segments in the HDD Also keeps track of memory allocation by limiting the memory usage by different application packages and users. That is some application packages are allowed more memory usage than others. Different users are given different amounts of memory for usage. Resource allocation and management Allocation of resources such as RAM, HDD, CPU time, peripherals, transmission medium etc. RAM Programs currently running need certain amount of memory. The OS decides how much of RAM should be allocated to each program. HDD Application software, system software and the users need HD space to store the work. The OS decides about the space allocation. High priority users may be given more space. CPU When several programs are running at the same time, CPU has to swap among the jobs to ensure that all programs get CPU attention. The OS decides how much of CPU time each job will get. Sometimes it allocates priority levels to the jobs. It also estimates at the beginning the total time needed to complete the job In the middle of processing it estimates how much more time is required to complete the job

Error handling OS handles any errors that may occur due to hardware or software failure.

LO4 2008/ 2009 (IGCSE O/L) ICT

 The errors will be reported tot eh user and some times recommends the course of action to be taken Eg: printer our of paper, Disk full Error messages will be displayed on screen and sometimes help files are available. If an error occurs in any part of the system, the OS will be immediately notify the processor through an "interrupt" After every fetch-execute cycle the CPU will check foe any "interrupts" If so the CPU will halt all the work and attend to it. Once the error is rectified the CPU will resume the work from where it stopped. This is known as Interrupt Service Routine (ISR) Resource management Involves the proper management and co-ordination of resources (HDD, I/O, removable drives, RAM etc) Formats the storage devices Disk defragmentation Disk scan and clean up Command interpreting All the commands should be converted to machine language. (carried out by compiler or interpreter or assembler) The CPU will give specific instructions how to carry out the instructions. Some of the instructions have to be executed with the help of the OS. Eg: if the user wishes to print a Word document: The user has to select the printer (if there are many) Number of pages, number of copies ect have to be specifies Once the command is given the data (word document) will be converted to a form understandable by the printer. This will then be sent to the printer with the help of the OS. (spooling) If the printer is too slow in accepting the data "buffering" will take place with the help of OS. (refer buffers) The job will be then placed in the "job queue" One by one jobs will be completed Buffers Computer is usually much faster than the peripheral devices. Therefore there is a difference in data transfer. Data transferred from the peripherals might not be fast enough for the CPU to process. Data sent out to the peripherals from the computer might be too fast for the devices to handle. Therefore a temporary storage area is used to hold the data which it is transferred to the necessary destination. Data from computer buffer Data tot peripheral device

LO4 2008/ 2009 (IGCSE O/L) ICT