Lesson 1 (Intro)
Cards (11)
- What are the 4 components of a Computer System?
- Hardware – provides basic computing resources (CPU, memory, I/O devices)
- Operating system → Controls and coordinates use of hardware among various applications and users
- Application programs → define the ways in which the system resources are used to solve the computing problems of the users (Word processors, compilers, web browsers, database systems, video games)
- Users → People, machines, other computers
- What does an operating system do?
- Provide a hardware abstraction for applications (e.g CPU, Memory, I/O Devices)
- Provides Synchronization for processes
- Provides Communication for applications (inter-process and local)
- How does the operating system provide local communication?
- Pipes
- Shared Memory
- Passing Messages
- What is a device driver?
- Device drivers provide the operating system with a uniform interface to access the device
(handles the actions from different users so we dont have to keep trackif the device has finish the task assigned or not) - What is a device controller?
- Device controller informs CPU that it has finished its operation by causing an interrupt
- What is a bootstrap program?A bootstrap program is the initial code that is loaded and executed by a computer system when it is powered on. It is responsible for initializing the system, loads the operating system and starts execution.Typically stored in ROM or EPROM.
- In DMA, why is one interrupt generated PER BLOCK rather than one interrupt per BYTE?In DMA, an interrupt is issued once, when we notify the OS that the transfer is complete.Without DMA, everytime we write a byte, we need to tell the CPU that we want to write the next word
- What is Direct Memory Access Structure?A mechanism that allows I/O device to access the main memory without CPU intervention.
- Interrupt Cycle
- Changes in Memory and Registers during an interrupt
- Changes in Memory and Registers after an interrupt