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CS 5631 Study Questions and Homework

Introduction (Chapters 1, 2, and 3)

Homework 1

Homework (6 points) due Tuesday, February 3, 2004.

For Homework 1, turn in your answers for the following study questions: 2, 7, 11, 14, 19, 21.

Study questions

  1. What is a batch processing operating system?

  2. What are multiprogramming and timesharing? Your answer should indicate what they have in common and how they differ.

  3. Why is timesharing desirable for an interactive computer system?

  4. What is a distributed computer system? How does it differ from a networked computer system?

  5. Describe the client-server operating system model.

  6. What is the difference between symmetric and asymmetric multiprocessor systems?

  7. Describe the role of interrupts in a modern opereting system.

  8. What is the difference between synchronous and asynchronous I/O? How do they differ with regard to interrupts?

  9. What is DMA? What I/O devices often use DMA?

  10. What is meant by memory-mapped I/O?

  11. What is caching? Why is it important? What principle is it based on? What problems does it create?

  12. What is dual-mode processor operation? Why is it important for an operating system?

  13. How can an operating system prevent users from accessing I/O devices directly?

  14. What simple system can be used to prevent one process from accessing the memory of another process?

  15. What hardware component is necessary to implement timesharing?

  16. What is a process?

  17. What is a system call?

  18. Why is it desirable to allow a process (the parent process) to create other processes (child processes)?

  19. What are two models for process communication?

  20. What is a layered operating system?

  21. What does "separation of policy from mechanism" mean?

  22. What is a microkernel? What early operating system featured the microkernel approach? How does a microkernel operating system separate mechanism from policy?

  23. What are three options for tailoring the operating system to a particular hardware configuration?

  24. What is a bootstrap loader?

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