The Architecture of Computer Hardware, Systems Software, & Networking: An Information Technology Approach, 5th Edition

CHAPTER 18

THE INTERNAL OPERATING SYSTEM

Thomas W. Sperling

18.0 INTRODUCTION

In Chapter 15 we presented an overview of the role of the operating system as a primary computer system component and observed that it is possible to represent the architecture of the operating system as a hierarchy, consisting of several layers of programs that interact with each other to handle the routine tasks of command processing, file management, I/O, resource management, communication, and scheduling. We continued the discussion in Chapter 16 by starting with the most familiar layer, the user interface. Chapter 17 moved inward to the next layer and presented the features and organization of the file management system. The file manager converts the logical representation of files as seen by the user or the user's programs to the physical representation stored and manipulated within the computer.

Now we are ready to examine major features of the remaining inner layers. These layers are designed primarily to manage the hardware and software resources of the computer and its interactions with other computers. In this chapter, we will look at how these internal operations are performed; we will consider how the operating system programs manage processes, memory, I/O, secondary storage, CPU time, and more for the convenience, security, and efficiency of the users.

We will briefly review the concepts ...