Operating System Services: Functions, Processes, and Management

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the services offered by an operating system. It begins by highlighting the role of the operating system in providing a user-friendly interface for program execution and resource management. The report details various key services, including user interfaces, program execution, I/O operations, file system management, inter-process communication, error management, resource allocation, accounting, protection, and command interpretation. Each service is explained in detail, emphasizing its function and significance in the overall operation of a computer system. The report also discusses the role of the operating system in facilitating convenient program execution and resource sharing. The document concludes with a reiteration of the importance of the operating system services in managing platform resources, ensuring efficient system operation, and supporting user programs effectively. The report references several key sources to support the information provided.

Operating System

To both the users as well as
programs, an operating
system offers diverse range
of services. It develops an
environment where
application programs can
be executed freely and in a
convenient manner
(Coppola et al, 2008).
Some of the common OS services
includes –
■ User Interface
■ Programme Execution
■ Communication
■ Allocation of Resources
■ Accounting
■ Detection of Error
■ Protection and Security

User programmes
System Calls
User interface
Hardware
Progra
m
Contro
l
I/O File
Syste
m
Comm
s
Error
Mngt
Resour
ce
Auditin
g
Securit
y
Operating
System

The operating system offers particular services to programs and to
the users of those programs. These includes interconnection of
various mechanism used in the services.
User Interface
■ There is a sort of user interface to all operating systems. Kinds of
user interface includes –
■ Batch interface, command line interface and GUI.

Program Execution
■ Running of programs, administering their execution and sharing the
outcomes.
■ It also performs other significant tasks such as allocation and de-
allocation of memory, CPU scheduling and so on.
I/O Operations
■ It refers to a mechanism for introducing and managing I/O operations.
■ OS provides a means to do I/O Input and Output operation which
signifies read or write operation with any file (Thakur, 2019).

File system management
■ Building, sustaining and controlling files and directories.
■ A file system is generally organized into directories to make ease
of their use.
Communications
■ Between processes of the same and different user.
■ It can be done via shared memory or via message passing.

Error Management
■ Protection related issues
■ Safety in the case of power failures via backups
■ Detecting and desirable states such as printer out of papers
Allocation of resources
■ Includes I/O scheduling and processor, memory management.
■ CPU scheduling routines help to develop how the best CPU can be
used.

Accounting
■ For the purpose of statistical and billing reasons, monitor the user
usage of resources.
■ Or simply to accumulate usage statistics.
Protection
■ It is necessary to protect one process from another.
■ To make the system secure, the user need to authenticate him or
her to the system before using (Li et al, 2010).

Command interpretation
■ There will be an interpretation of the commands entered by the
users and then necessary actions will be performed.
■ It includes mechanism for services like sorting data, local print
spooling, searching patterns and many more.
- Hence, all these are the particular services being offered to
the programs.

Conclusion
■ Management of platform resources comprise of the memory, files, processor,
input and output that are also supported by the operating system services.
■ Operating user services ensures that user with the services can execute the
programme in a different and convenient manner.
■ Operating system makes programming tasks easier in extent with resource
sharing.

references
■ Coppola, M., Jegou, Y., Matthews, B., Morin, C., Prieto, L.P., Sánchez, O.D., Yang, E.Y. and Yu,
H. (2008) Virtual organization support within a grid-wide operating system. IEEE Internet
Computing, 12(2), pp.20-28.
■ Li, Q., Hao, Q.F., Xiao, L.M. and Li, Z.J. (2010) An integrated approach to automatic
management of virtualized resources in cloud environments. The Computer Journal, 54(6),
pp.905-919.
■ Thakur, D. (2019) Type of Operating System Services [ONLINE] Available from:
http://ecomputernotes.com/fundamental/disk-operating-system/operating-system-services
[Accessed 03/04/2019].

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