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Chapter

1
Introduction to Operating
Systems
An Overview of Microcomputers
Whats Contained in and Attached to a
Microcomputer?
Purpose, Types, and Functions of Microcomputer
Operating Systems
Yesterdays Operating Systems
Desktop OSs Available Today

Learning Objectives
Describe the microcomputers in use today
Identify common computer hardware
components
Describe the purpose and functions of
microcomputer operating systems
Describe major events in the evolution of
microcomputer operating systems
List and compare the common microcomputer
operating systems

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An Overview of
Microcomputers
What is a Microcomputer?
A computer built around a microprocessor
Microprocessor performs calculations or
processing
A personal computer (PC) is a microcomputer
that complies with hardware standards set and
supported by Microsoft and Intel

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An Overview of
Microcomputers
What Types of Microcomputers Are Used
Today?
Desktops and laptops
Servers provide services to other computers
Handheld devices designed for a specific
purpose

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Whats Contained in and

Attached to a
Microcomputer?
Microprocessor
Also known as the CPU or processor
Central component of a microcomputer
Performs calculations
One or more per microcomputer

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Whats Contained in and

Attached to a Microcomputer?
Microprocessor (continued)
Since the 386DX, Intel Microprocessors support
three modes:
Real mode
286 protected mode
386 protected mode

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Whats Contained in and

Attached to a Microcomputer?
Microprocessor (continued)
Real mode
Intel processors power up in this mode
Total address space = 1MB
640KB limit for OS and application
Single-tasking

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Whats Contained in and

Attached to a Microcomputer?
Microprocessor (continued)
286 protected mode
Total address space = 16 MB
Can multitask certain applications
Does not support virtual machines

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Whats Contained in and

Attached to a Microcomputer?
Microprocessor (continued)
386 protected mode
Total address space = 4GB
Supports the use of virtual machines
Multitasking

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Whats Contained in and

Attached to a Microcomputer?
Microprocessor (continued)
Processors can work with 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit,
and 64-bit chunks of data
The number of bits (binary digits) is the size
of data that can be processed at one time

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Whats Contained in and

Attached to a Microcomputer?
Motherboard and Chipset
Motherboard central circuit board
Contains one or more CPU slots or sockets into
which the processor is plugged
Chipset, memory slots, voltage regulator
module (VRM), ROM BIOS, and the expansion
bus slots
are components of a motherboard
Chipset controls the flow of signals to and from

the processor and other components

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Whats Contained in and

Attached to a Microcomputer?
Memory
Chips that store programs and data
Random-access memory (RAM)
Read-only memory (ROM)

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Whats Contained in and

Attached to a Microcomputer?
Memory (continued)
RAM
System, main, or physical memory
Used by active programs
One or more circuit cards with memory chips
Volatile all is lost when the computer is
powered
of

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Whats Contained in and

Attached to a Microcomputer?
Memory (continued)
ROM BIOS
Stores programs permanently
Called firmware since it is non-volatile

ROM BIOS contains:

Code for starting the computer
Code for controlling communications between
the processor and other components
A setup program for configuring system options
Configuration information stored in a special kind
of non-volatile RAM called the CMOS RAM
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Whats Contained in and

Attached to a Microcomputer?
ROM BIOS configuration information
Disk drive types and capacity
Disk boot order
System memory
Connectors (ports)
Power management
Other information determined by
motherboard and ROM BIOS manufacturers

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Whats Contained in and

Attached to a Microcomputer?
Video Adapter and Display
Video adapter circuitry that sends the
controlling output signals to the display screen
Display screen a monitor or a flat panel
display (FPD) for visual output from the
computer

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Whats Contained in and

Attached to a Microcomputer?
Keyboard
An input device with a typewriter style layout
of alphanumeric and punctuation keys
Includes additional function, control, arrow,
and editing keys

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Whats Contained in and

Attached to a Microcomputer?
Pointing Device
Required to move a graphical pointer (cursor)
around in a GUI
Mouse is the most common pointing device
connects via a physical cable or a wireless
connection.
Other pointing devices: touch pad, track ball,
joystick, and light pen

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Whats Contained in and

Attached to a Microcomputer?
Disk Drives
Store data and programs
Encoded on surface of small spinning platters
Magnetic or optical technology
Floppy drives and hard disk drives use magnetic
technology
Compact disk (CD) and digital versatile disk
(DVD) drives use optical technologies

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Whats Contained in and

Attached to a Microcomputer?
Peripheral Devices
Broad term for nonessential add-on devices
Includes printers, scanners, pointing devices,
digital cameras, external modems, and disk
drives

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Purpose, Types, and Functions

of Microcomputer Operating
Systems

What is an Operating System?

An Operating System is:

The central control program for a computer

The intermediary between applications &
hardware

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Purpose, Types, and Functions

of Microcomputer Operating
Systems
Operating System Functions
User interface
Job management
Task management
Memory Management
File management
Device management
Security

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Purpose, Types, and Functions

of Microcomputer Operating
Systems

User Interface

AKA the shell

A software layer for user interaction
Includes the command processor
Includes the visual components of the OS
Character-based command line
GUI

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Purpose, Types, and Functions

of Microcomputer Operating
Systems

Job management

Controls the order and time in which

programs are run

Task management
Found in multitasking operating systems
Controls the focus
Allows user to switch between tasks

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Purpose, Types, and Functions

of Microcomputer Operating
Systems

Memory Management

Manages placement of programs and data

in memory
Virtual memory manager moves code and
data to virtual memory (file on hard drive)

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Purpose, Types, and Functions

of Microcomputer Operating
Systems

File Management

AKA data management

Allows the OS to read, write, and modify data
Data is organized into files
Allows users to organize their files into
containers called folders or directories

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Purpose, Types, and Functions

of Microcomputer Operating
Systems

Device Management

Controls hardware through device drivers

A device driver is unique to a device
Created by the manufacturer of the device to
work with a specific operating system

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Purpose, Types, and Functions

of Microcomputer Operating
Systems

Security

Provides password-protected authentication

of the user before allowing access
Checks user name and password
Restricts the actions that can be performed on
a computer, customized for each user

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Purpose, Types, and Functions

of Microcomputer Operating
Systems

Categories of Operating Systems

Single-User/Single-tasking
Single-User/Multitasking
Multi-User/Multitasking
Real-Time

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Yesterdays Operating
Systems
First the machines
Charles Babbage designed the first computer in
the 1820s
Apple II was the first microcomputer to combine
critical elements like keyboard, monitor,
operating system, and desirable and useful
applications

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Yesterdays Operating
Systems
Then the Operating Systems
Early single-purpose computers included
system functions
OSs did not exist as separate entity
OSs evolved from need for multipurpose
computers

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Yesterdays Operating
Systems
DOS, CP/M, Apple, and

the Killer App

To be widely accepted a computer needed a

killer app
VisiCalc was the killer app of 1970s microcomputers
VisiCalc ran under the CP/M OS
VisiCalc contributed to the success of the
Apple II
Both PC DOS and a version of CP/M were
available for the IBM PC
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Yesterdays Operating
Systems
The Second Wave (second killer app)
Lotus 1-2-3 a DOS spreadsheet application
that is fast and provides added functionalities
Lotus 1-2-3 became the killer app for the
IBM-PC/PC DOS combination.

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Yesterdays Operating
Systems
OS/2 (Operating System/2)
Version 1.0 introduced in 1987
Developed by Microsoft and IBM
1.0 had costly memory and disk requirements
IBM introduced OS/2 Warp in 1990s
IBM has ended development of new versions

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Yesterdays Operating
Systems
Microsoft Windows
1985 first version GUI on top of DOS
Windows 3.0, introduced in 1990, provided
better support for legacy DOS applications
Windows 3.x works in real mode, standard
mode,
and 386 enhanced mode
1992 Windows 3.1 successful with MS Office

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Yesterdays Operating
Systems
Windows for Workgroups
DOS and earlier versions of Windows had no
networking
Windows for Workgroups 3.1 and 3.11 enabled
peer-to-peer networking

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Desktop OSs Available Today

Windows 2000
Windows XP
Macintosh OSs
UNIX
Linux

DOS from Microsoft

Windows NT
Windows 98
Windows ME

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Desktop OSs Available Today

DOS from Microsoft
DOS provides support for interaction with
disk drives
Microsofts first version of DOS, called PC
DOS
Introduced with the first IBM-PC in 1981
Each major version of DOS supported new
disk capacities
DOS has a text-mode command line interface

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Desktop OSs Available Today

Windows NT
First Microsoft OS to take full advantage of the
capabilities of the Intels 386 protected mode
Two main versions of NT one for servers and
another for desktop computers
Windows NT 4.0, introduced in 1996, has a
GUI similar to Windows 95

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Desktop OSs Available Today

Windows 98
An evolutionary development compared to
the earlier Windows operating system in
terms of GUI and integrated components
New options for customizing the GUI,
including tighter integration with Microsofts
Web browser, Internet Explorer (IE)

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Desktop OSs Available Today

Windows 98 (continued)
Comes with drivers and support for devices
like DVD drives
It was the choice for PCs with plug and play
(PnP) hardware, not supported by Windows NT

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Desktop OSs Available Today

Windows Me
Introduced in 2000 as an upgrade to Windows
98
Improved music, video, and home networking
support
Provides utilities as well as applications for
dealing with PC software configuration, digital
music, and video

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Desktop OSs Available Today

Windows 2000
Family of OS products, introduced in 2000
Combines the best of Windows 98 and
Windows NT
Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000
Server, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, and
Windows 2000 Enterprise Edition

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Desktop OSs Available Today

Windows XP
Several products, but no server version
Most common are Windows XP Home Edition
and Windows XP Professional
Improved GUI as well as several network- and
security-related features
Default desktop only contains the Recycle Bin

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Desktop OSs Available Today

Macintosh Operating Systems
Only run on Apple Macintosh computers
Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X common today

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Desktop OSs Available Today

Macintosh Operating Systems (continued)
Macintosh hardware and software are
proprietary products of Apple Computer
Company
Macintosh computers generally use the
PowerPC
chip with an architecture that is enhanced for
graphics and multimedia

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Desktop OSs Available Today

UNIX
Introduced by Bell Labs Computing Science
Research Center (Bell Labs) as UNIX Version 6
in 1975
A portable operating system for mini-computers
and mainframe computers
Supports timesharing and multi-user systems
An excellent server operating system as it
utilizes resources carefully, allowing only the
required services to be loaded
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Desktop OSs Available Today

UNIX (continued)
The current commercial versions of UNIX
include Sun Microsystems Solaris, HewlettPackards HP-UX, IBMs AIX, and Compaqs
Tru64 UNIX
Many open source versions of UNIX are also
available, which can be changed according to
requirements

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Desktop OSs Available Today

Linux
Modeled on UNIX
Named for original developer, Linus Benedict
Torvalds
Begun in 1991 by Torvalds and others as opensource for modern computers.
Written in the C language using GNU C Compiler
(GCC)

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Desktop OSs Available Today

Linux (continued)
Distributed free
Vendors sell bundles with extras (utilities,
GUIs, manuals)
Novell, Red Hat, and others distribute such
bundles
Fastest-growing computer server OS
Making inroads on desktop computers

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Chapter Summary
Microcomputers Today
A computer consists of hardware, applications
software, and operating system software
The operating system allows the user to
interact
with the computer hardware

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Chapter Summary
Common Microcomputer Hardware
The basic components of a microcomputer are
processor, motherboard, memory, video
adapter
and display, keyboard, pointing device, disk
drives, and peripheral devices
You can identify hardware components by a
visual inspection, by observing information
displayed during the boot up process, and by
accessing a ROM BIOS setup program

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Chapter Summary
Purpose and Functions of Microcomputer
Operating systems
Certain functions are provided by most, if not
all, current operating systems. These functions
include a user interface, job management, task
management, memory management, file
manage-ment, device management, and
security.
The operating system makes everything work
together

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Chapter Summary
Purpose and Functions of Microcomputer
Operating systems
You can identify most of the functions provided
by your operating system by careful
observation.
For instance, evidence of support of the security
function includes a required logon procedure
when you start your computer, and the need for
authorization to access resources on your local
computer.

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Chapter Summary
Purpose and Functions of Microcomputer
Operating systems
There are four categories of operating systems:
Single-User/single-tasking
Single-User/multitasking
Multi-User/multitasking
Real-Time

A Single-User/single-tasking operating system

is one that allows only a single user to perform
a single task at a time
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Chapter Summary
Purpose and Functions of Microcomputer
Operating systems
An operating system that allows a single user to
perform two or more functions at once is a
Single-User/multitasking operating system
A Multi-User/multitasking operating system is
an operating system that allows multiple users
to
run programs simultaneously on a single
network server, called a terminal server

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Chapter Summary
Purpose and Functions of Microcomputer
Operating systems
Real-time operating systems are defined by
their speed and ability to work with special
real-time applications programs. A Real-time
operating system is a very fast, relatively small
OS that is often embedded, meaning it is built
into the circuitry of a device and not normally
loaded from a disk drive

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Chapter Summary
Major Events in the Evolution of
Microcomputer Operating Systems
The history of current microcomputers and their
OSs involved many technical advances and the
imagination of a multitude of innovative people
You can find many accounts of the history of
computers and operating systems by searching
the Internet

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Chapter Summary
What OSs Are Available Today?
The microcomputer operating systems common
today include MS-DOS, several versions of
Windows (Windows 98, Windows 2000, and
Windows XP), Mac OS 9, Mac OS X, and several
versions of UNIX and Linux
Each of todays common operating systems is
best suited for certain uses

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Chapter Summary
What OSs Are Available Today?
Microsoft desktop OSs are common in the
business environment
Both UNIX and Linux can be found on highend servers and on desktop computers. The use
of Linux is growing on all types of systems
The Mac OSs are commonly used in education
and in graphic workstations

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