Following are the services provided by an operating system
-
- Program
execution
- Control
Input/output devices
- Program
creation
- Error
Detection and Response
- Accounting
- Security
and Protection
- File
Management
- Communication
Program execution
To execute a program, several tasks need to be performed.
Both the instructions and data must be loaded into the main memory. In
addition, input-output devices and files should be initialized, and other
resources must be prepared. The Operating structures handle these kinds of tasks.
The user now no longer should fear the reminiscence allocation or multitasking
or anything.
Control Input/output devices
As there are numerous types of I/O devices within the
computer system, and each I/O device calls for its own precise set of
instructions for the operation. The Operating System hides that info with the
aid of presenting a uniform interface. Thus, it is convenient for programmers
to access such devices easily.
Program Creation
The Operating system offers the structures and tools,
including editors and debuggers, to help the programmer create, modify, and
debugging programs.
Error Detection and Response
An Error in a device may also cause malfunctioning of the
entire device. These include hardware and software errors such as device
failure, memory error, division by zero, attempts to access forbidden memory
locations, etc. To avoid error, the operating system monitors the system for
detecting errors and takes suitable action with at least impact on running
applications.
While working with computers, errors may occur quite often.
Errors may occur in the:
- Input/
Output devices: For
example, connection failure in the network, lack of paper in the printer,
etc.
- User
program: For
example: attempt to access illegal memory locations, divide by zero, use
too much CPU time, etc.
- Memory
hardware: For
example, Memory error, the memory becomes full, etc.
To handle these errors and other types of possible errors,
the operating system takes appropriate action and generates messages to ensure
correct and consistent computing.
Accounting
An Operating device collects utilization records for
numerous assets and tracks the overall performance parameters and responsive
time to enhance overall performance. These personal records are beneficial for
additional upgrades and tuning the device to enhance overall performance.
Security and Protection
Operating device affords safety to the statistics and
packages of a person and protects any interference from unauthorized users. The
safety feature counters threats, which are published via way of individuals out
of doors the manage of the running device.
For Example:
When a user downloads something from the internet, that
program may contain malicious code that may harm the already existing programs.
The operating system ensures that proper checks are applied while downloading
such programs.
File management
Computers keep data and information on secondary storage
devices like magnetic tape, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc. Each storage
media has its capabilities like speed, capacity, data transfer rate, and data
access methods.
For file management, the operating system must know the
types of different files and the characteristics of different storage devices.
It has to offer the proportion and safety mechanism of documents additionally.
Communication
The operating system manages the exchange of data and
programs among different computers connected over a network. This communication
is accomplished using message passing and shared memory.