Previous Year Question Paper and Answers Page replacement is a technique used in virtual

March 2022 memory management, in which a page of memory

is removed from physical memory and stored in a
swap file on the hard drive to free up space for
PART A other pages. The advantage of page replacement
is that it allows more programs to run
1. What is the function of an operating system? simultaneously, even if there is not enough
An operating system is responsible for managing physical memory to hold them all at once.
computer hardware and software resources, 11. Differentiate between authentication and
providing common services for computer authorization.
programs, and allowing programs to run on the Authentication is the process of verifying the
computer. identity of a user or system, while authorization is
2. Define an operating system. the process of determining whether a user or
An operating system is a software program that system has the necessary permissions or
manages computer hardware and software privileges to access a particular resource or
resources and provides common services for perform a particular action.
computer programs. 12. Explain the features of mobile OS.
3. Explain serial processing with an example. Mobile operating systems are designed
Serial processing refers to the execution of tasks specifically for use on mobile devices such as
or processes one at a time, in a sequential smartphones and tablets. Some common features
manner. For example, a simple calculator of mobile operating systems include touch screen
program that performs addition, subtraction, interfaces, support for multiple applications
multiplication, and division one after another, is an running simultaneously, location-based services,
example of serial processing. and access to mobile app stores.
4. What do you mean by shell programming?
Shell programming refers to the use of a PART B
command-line interface, or shell, to write and
execute scripts that automate tasks or perform 13. Briefly explain the scope of Priority
complex operations on a computer system. scheduling.
5. What do you understand by the term Bash? Priority scheduling is a scheduling algorithm used
Bash is a popular shell, or command-line by operating systems to allocate resources to
interface, for Unix-based operating systems, such processes based on their priority level. The scope
as Linux and macOS. It stands for "Bourne-again of priority scheduling is to ensure that processes
shell," a reference to the Bourne shell, which was with higher priority levels get access to the
one of the first Unix shells. resources they need before processes with lower
6. Mention any two iterative commands in Linux. priority levels. This helps to optimize the use of
Two iterative commands in Linux are "for" and resources and improve system performance.
"while." These commands allow you to repeat a 14. What do you understand by the term thread?
series of commands or operations multiple times, A thread is a lightweight process that can be
based on a specific condition or set of conditions. executed independently within a program.
7. What is CPU scheduling? Threads share the same memory space as their
CPU scheduling refers to the process by which an parent process and can communicate with each
operating system manages the allocation of other through shared variables or interprocess
computer processing resources to different tasks communication mechanisms.
or processes. 15. Explain the scheduling criteria in detail.
8. Explain process scheduling with an example. The scheduling criteria are a set of factors used
Process scheduling refers to the way in which an by operating systems to determine the order in
operating system determines which process which processes are executed. These criteria
should be allocated CPU resources at any given include:
time. For example, if a user opens multiple CPU utilization: the percentage of time the CPU is
applications at once, the operating system must busy executing a process
decide which application to give priority to in Throughput: the number of processes completed
terms of CPU resources. per unit of time
9. What is an overlay? Turnaround time: the time it takes for a process to
An overlay is a technique used in memory complete from submission to termination
management, in which a program is divided into Waiting time: the amount of time a process
sections that can be loaded and unloaded into spends waiting in the ready queue
memory as needed, rather than loading the entire Response time: the time it takes for a system to
program at once. respond to a user request
10. What is page replacement, and explain its 16. Give a description of the classical
advantage? synchronization problem with an example.
 The classical synchronization problem refers to a conditions, data inconsistency, and other
set of challenges related to coordinating the concurrency issues.
access to shared resources among multiple To solve the critical section problem, a
processes or threads. An example of a classical synchronization mechanism must be used to
synchronization problem is the ensure that only one process or thread can
producer-consumer problem, where a producer execute the critical section at a time. This
produces data and a consumer consumes data. mechanism typically involves the use of
The challenge is to ensure that the producer and semaphores, locks, or other primitives that allow
consumer do not access the shared buffer at the processes or threads to block or wait until the
same time, which could result in data corruption resource is available.
or loss. To implement a correct and efficient solution to
17. Explain the client-server system with an the critical section problem, several criteria must
example. be met, including mutual exclusion, progress, and
A client-server system is a model of bounded waiting. Mutual exclusion ensures that
communication where a client requests services only one process or thread can execute the
or resources from a server. An example of a critical section at a time. Progress ensures that if
client-server system is a web browser and a web no process or thread is executing the critical
server. When a user enters a URL into a web section and some processes or threads want to
browser, the browser sends a request to the web access it, then only those processes or threads
server to retrieve the requested web page. The that are not in their critical sections can participate
web server then sends the web page back to the in the decision on which process or thread will
browser to display to the user. enter the critical section next. Bounded waiting
18. Explain the difference between paging and ensures that there is a limit on the number of
segmentation. times that a process or thread can be blocked or
Paging and segmentation are two memory delayed from entering its critical section.
management techniques used by operating 21. Explain the UNIX Operating system with its
systems. Paging divides memory into fixed-size features.
pages, whereas segmentation divides memory UNIX is a multi-user, multitasking operating
into variable-sized segments. Paging is simpler to system that was developed in the late 1960s and
implement and offers better memory utilization, early 1970s at Bell Labs. It is a powerful and
but can suffer from internal fragmentation. flexible system that has become the foundation of
Segmentation offers more flexibility and better many modern operating systems, such as Linux
protection between processes, but can suffer from and macOS.
external fragmentation. The features of UNIX include:
19. Explain the concept of virtual memory. ● Multiuser: UNIX allows multiple users to
Virtual memory is a technique used by operating access the system and share its
systems to manage memory that allows resources, such as files, directories, and
processes to use more memory than is physically devices.
available in the system. It does this by temporarily ● Multitasking: UNIX allows multiple
transferring pages of data from main memory to processes to run simultaneously and
disk, freeing up space in main memory for other switch between them quickly and
processes. When a process needs to access a efficiently.
page that is not currently in main memory, the ● Hierarchical file system: UNIX organizes
operating system retrieves it from disk and places files and directories in a tree-like structure,
it in main memory, swapping out another page if with a root directory at the top and
necessary. This technique allows multiple subdirectories branching out from it.
processes to share the same physical memory ● Shell: UNIX provides a command-line
and enables larger programs to run on systems interface called a shell, which allows users
with limited physical memory. to interact with the system and execute
commands and scripts.
PART C ● Networking: UNIX has built-in support for
networking, allowing users to connect to
20. Explain critical section problem in detail. other systems and share resources over a
The critical section problem is a fundamental network.
problem in computer science and operating ● Portability: UNIX is designed to be
systems that arises when multiple processes or portable and can run on a variety of
threads access a shared resource, such as a data hardware platforms and architectures.
structure or a device, and try to modify it ● Open-source: UNIX is an open-source
simultaneously. The critical section is a portion of system, which means that its source code
the code that accesses and modifies the shared is freely available and can be modified and
resource, and it must be protected to avoid race redistributed by users.