HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE SIMPLIFIED STUDY NOTES

1.1.1 UNIT 1. Define the following input devices

1.1.1.1 KEYBOARDS
 What is Computer Keyboard?
 A keyboard is a portable wired or wireless electronic device that contains all the
alphabets, numerics, symbols and special characters, which is used for entering input
data into a laptop/ desktop computer system. The various types of computer keyboards
typically used by computer users for different purposes are a qwerty keyboard, a
gaming keyboard, a virtual keyboard and a multimedia keyboard. Based on the
connectivity options used for a keyboard to connect with a computer, it is classified as a
wired keyboard, a wireless keyboard, a Bluetooth keyboard and an USB keyboard.

 Types of Computer Keyboard

 Keyboards are classified based on the size and their mode of usage. Those types are
discussed below:

1. Multimedia Keyboard
 The keyboard that has all multimedia buttons is called multimedia keyboard. The
buttons include play, pause, previous, next, volume up, volume down, mute and special
button to launch media. Also, a button to launch a browser, my computer, calculator is
available.

 2. Mechanical Keyboard
 The primitive keyboard which uses physical buttons for each key is called a mechanical
keyboard. It makes noise when each key is pressed. A button is pushed down and an
electrical signal is sent to the computer device which then shows the characters.

 3. Wireless Keyboard
 Bluetooth, IR technology or Radio Frequency is used to connect the keyboard with the
computer device. We can port the keyboard and the parent system is not needed near
the keyboard. These keyboards are lightweight and smaller in size. These keyboards
should have a transmitter and trans-receiver. Transmitter sends the strokes from the
keyboard as radio waves which are received by trans-receiver kept near parent device.

 4. Virtual Keyboard
 The keyboard used in smartphones is called a virtual keyboard. This keyboard appears
when needed and disappears when typing is completed. This can be automatically set
as per need. Also in the windows system, we can use a virtual keyboard that appears
on the screen. There is no physical object to carry for a virtual keyboard.

 5. USB Keyboard
 Universal Serial Bus Keyboard has a USB stick with a wire which has to be inserted into
the USB port of the system. And then the keyboard works well. While rebooting the
system, the keyboard is not supported and hence the users may face an issue.
Installation of suitable drivers helps to resolve this issue.

 6. Ergonomic Keyboard
 This keyboard is mainly designed for users who use both hands for typing. The
advantage of this keyboard is less muscle strain and carpal tunnel syndrome for users.
The keyboard is built with the view of ergonomics. This keyboard is expensive and not
affordable for common people.

7. QWERTY Keyboard

 The earlier typewriters had keys in the range QWERTY due to the arrangement of
strings. Early computer keyboards were also built in the same manner for the ease of
use for typewriter users. This keyboard is the most common one used by all of us and
hence needs no introduction.

8. Gaming Keyboard

 The keyboard that has very few keys specific for gamers is called gaming keyboard.
Graphics are also included in the keyboard. W, S, D, A and arrow keys are the only
keys you could find in this keyboard. The design is so good that anyone could fall in
love with the keyboard.

9. Chiclet Keyboard

 The keys are square-shaped with rounded edges in this keyboard. The technology varies
for devices which makes this special. Buttons are attached with membranes of the
switches in the keyboard and this is used in almost all the devices now.

10. Membrane Keyboard

 These keyboards use pressure pads and have characters printed on a flexible surface
called membrane. The cost is very less for these keyboards. But the inaccuracy in typing
and gaming made them lose the importance.

11. Thumb Keyboard

 The smaller keyboard with fewer keys or only numeric characters is called a thumb
keyboard. These are mostly used for arithmetic operations and also for gaming. The size
of this keyboard is just thumb-size.

12. Flexible Keyboard

 The keyboards made of silicone which has most of the keys and flexible in appearance is
called a flexible keyboard. The distance between the keys are less. The keyboards are
meant for rolling and are not foldable.

13. Laptop Sized Keyboard

 The keys are reduced and the space between keys are less in this type of keyboard.
These are specially designed for laptops. Most keyboards do not have numeric keypads
and some functions are incorporated with other keys on the keyboard.

14. Backlit Keyboard

 The keys have lights which help the users to type even in the dark. These keyboards are
available in gaming and traditional keyboards.

15. Magic Keyboards

 These keyboards are manufactured by Mac and are supported by the battery. The
design is good and makes everyone have the feel of the keyboard.

16. Bluetooth Keyboard

 The keyboard is connected with the system using Bluetooth and hence the USB port can
be used for other purposes. This keyboard provides flexibility to the wired keyboard.

17. Chorded Keyboard

 A limited number of keys help the user to port the keyboard anywhere. A combination of
some keys helps to produce the desired characteristics. The keyboard is small in size
and is not commercially successful as other keyboards.

Uses of Keyboard

 Here we have pointed out the uses of the keyboard.

 Users can type the letters and numbers using the keyboard. Also, some special
commands can be done using the keyboard. Only with the keyboard, we can input data.
 Most of the functions can be performed by a keyboard without the help of the mouse.
Function keys and control keys are used for special functions done by mouse.
 Shortcut keys are used to access any files from the system so that mouse use can be
avoided.

 Control key and escape key can be used in most of the functions for various purposes.

 Touch screen keyboards are mostly in use nowadays and in the future, these may be
replaced by Augmented Reality keyboards. New keyboards are flexible and more
customized than traditional ones. Maybe in the future, the data can be inputted by other
means than the keyboard. The mindset to welcome all changes is needed for the
generation.

Pointing devices
A pointing device, or sometimes called a pointing tool, is a hardware input device that allows the user to
move the mouse cursor in a computer program or GUI operating system. Using a pointing device, you can
point at or manipulate any object or text on the screen. For example, using a pointing device you could point at
and select an icon from a list of icons.
1. Mouse
2. Keyboard
3. Touchpad
4. Joystick
5. Trackball
6. Light Pen
7. Optical Card Reader
8. Digitizing Tablet
9. Stylus

Data-Entry

Source Data Entry Devices

Source data entry devices are used for audio input, video input and to enter the source document directly to the computer.
Source data entry devices do not require data to be typed-in, keyed-in or pointed to a particular location.

1. Speech recognition Input Device:

The “Microphones - Speech Recognition” is a speech Input device. To operate it we require using a microphone to talk to
the computer. Also we need to add a sound card to the computer. A sound card translates analog audio signals from
microphone into digital codes that the computer can store and process. Sound card also translates back the digital sound
into analog signals that can be sent to the speakers. A speech recognition program can process the input and convert it
into machine-recognized commands or input.

Fig: The microphone

2. Digital Camera:
A digital camera can store many more pictures than an ordinary camera. Pictures taken using a digital camera are stored
inside its memory and can be transferred to a computer by connecting the camera to it. A digital camera takes pictures by
converting the light passing through the lens at the front into a digital image.

Fig: The digital camera

3. Scanner:
Scanner is an input device that accepts paper document as an input. Scanner is used to input data directly into the
computer from the source document without copying and typing the data. The input data to be scanned can be a picture,
a text or a mark on a paper. It is an optical input device and uses light as an input source to convert an image into an
electronic form that can be stored on the computer. Scanner accepts the source paper document, scans the document
and translates it into a bitmap image to be stored on the computer. The denser the bitmap, the higher is the resolution of
the image. The quality of scan increases with the increase in resolution. Scanners come with utility software that allow the
stored scanned documents to be edited, manipulated and printed.

Fig: The Scanner

4. Optical Character Recognition (OCR):
OCR is the ability of machine to recognize characters. OCR is a type of optical scanner, which can detect alphanumeric
characters printed on paper. The OCR uses special light, or optic to read text from a piece of paper. A special font
standard is needed to recognize character. The OCR system consist combination of hardware and software to recognize
characters. The advanced OCR system can read variety of fonts, but still have difficulty to read hand written text.
The OCR devices examine each character by analyzing point of characters then when the whole character is scanned, it
is compared with standard fonts in which OCR devices are programmed to recognize the optical characters. OCR is used
for large volume processing application such as reading of passenger tickets, processing motor vehicles registration etc.

Fig: OCR
5. Optical Mark Recognition (OMR):
OMR is used to detect marks on a paper. The marks are recognized by their darkness. OMR uses an optical mark reader
to read the marks. The OMR reader scans the forms, detects the mark that is positioned correctly on the paper and is
darker than the surrounding paper, and passes this information to the computer for processing by application software.
For this, it uses a beam of light that is reflected on the paper with marks, to capture presence and absence of marks. The
optical mark reader detects the presence of mark by measuring the reflected light. The pattern of marks is interpreted and
stored in the computer.
OMR is widely used to read answers of objective type tests, where the student marks an answer by darkening a particular
circle using a pencil. OMR is also used to read forms, questionnaires, order forms, etc.
Fig: OMR scanner

6. Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR):

MICR is used in banks to process large volumes of cheques. It is used for recognizing the magnetic encoding numbers
printed at the bottom of a cheque. The numbers on the cheque are human readable, and are printed using an ink which
contains iron particles. These numbers are magnetized. MICR uses magnetic ink character reader for character
recognition. When a cheque is passed through Magnetic Ink Character Reader, the magnetic field causes the read head
to recognize the characters or numbers of cheque. The readers are generally used in banks to process the cheques. The
numbers in the bottom of the cheque include the bank number, branch number and cheque number. The reading speed of
MICR is faster than OCR.
Fig: MICR

7. Barcode Reader:
Barcodes are adjacent vertical lines of different width that are machine readable. Goods available at supermarkets, books,
etc. use barcode for identification. Barcodes are read using reflective light by barcode readers. This information is input to
the computer which interprets the code using the spacing and thickness of bars. Hand-held barcode readers are generally
used in departmental stores to read the labels, and in libraries to read labels on books.
Barcode readers are fast and accurate. They enable faster service to the customer and are also used to determine the
items being sold, number of each item sold or to retrieve the price of item.

Fig: The Barcode reader

Output Devices

Output devices provide output to the user, which is generated after processing the input data. The processed data,
presented to the user via the output devices could be text, graphics, audio or video. The output could be on a paper or on
a film in a tangible form, or, in an intangible form as audio, video and electronic form.
Output devices are classified as follows:
1. Hard Copy Devices
 Printer
 Plotter
2. Soft Copy Devices
 Monitor
 Visual Display Terminal
 Video Output
 Audio Response

Hard Copy Devices

The output obtained in a tangible form on a paper or any surface is called hard copy output. The hard copy can be stored
permanently and is portable. The hard copy output can be read or used without a computer. The devices that generate
hard copy output are called hard copy devices. Printer, plotter are common hard copy output devices.

1. Printer:
Printers are used to produce paper (commonly known as hardcopy) output. Based on the technology used, they can be
classified as Impact or Non-impact printers.
Impact printers use the typewriting printing mechanism wherein a hammer strikes the paper through a ribbon in order to
produce output. Dot-matrix and Character printers fall under this category.
Non-impact printers do not touch the paper while printing. They use chemical, heat or electrical signals to etch the
symbols on paper. Inkjet, Deskjet, Laser, Thermal printers fall under this category of printers.
When we talk about printers we refer to two basic qualities associated with printers: resolution, and speed. Print resolution
is measured in terms of number of dots per inch (dpi). Print speed is measured in terms of number of characters printed in
a unit of time and is represented as characters-per-second (cps), lines-per-minute (lpm), or pages-per-minute (ppm).
2. Plotter:
Plotters are used to print graphical output on paper. It interprets computer commands and makes line drawings on paper
using multicolored automated pens. It is capable of producing graphs, drawings, charts, maps etc. Computer Aided
Engineering (CAE) applications like CAD (Computer Aided Design) and CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) are typical
usage areas for plotters.
Plotters are of two kinds: drum plotter and flatbed plotter. In a drum plotter, pens mounted on the carriage are stationary
and move only horizontally; for vertical movement, the drum on which the paper is fixed moves clockwise and anti-
clockwise. In a flatbed plotter, the paper is fixed on a flat bed. The paper is stationary and the pens mounted on the
carriage move horizontally and vertically to draw lines.

Soft Copy Devices

The output obtained in an intangible form on a visual display, audio unit or video unit is called soft copy output. The soft
copy allows corrections to be made, can be stored, and, can be sent via E– to other users. The soft copy output requires a
computer to be read or used. The devices that generate soft copy output are called soft copy devices. Visual output
devices like computer monitor, visual display terminal, video system and audio response system are common soft copy
output devices.

1. Monitor:
Monitor is an output device that resembles the television screen and uses a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) to display
information. The monitor is associated with a keyboard for manual input of characters and displays the information as it is
keyed in. It also displays the program or application output. Like the television, monitors are also available in different
sizes.
The two basic types of monitors used are Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) and LCD (Liquid Crystal Display).The CRT monitor
look much like television and are used with non-portable computer system. On the other hand LCD monitor are thinner
and lighter are commonly used with portable computer systems like laptop and notebook computers.

2. Video Output:
Screen image projector or data projector is an output device that displays information from the computer onto a large
white screen. The projector is mainly used to display visual output to a large gathering of people required for the purposes
of teaching, training, meetings, conference presentations, etc.

3. Audio Output:
The Audio output is the ability of the computer to output sound. Two components are needed: Sound card – Plays
contents of digitized recordings, Speakers – Attached to sound card.
Audio output device like speakers, headset or headphone is used for audio output sound from computer. The signals are
sent to the speakers via the sound card that translates the digital sound back into analog signals. The audio response
from the computer may be generated by synthesizing the input human speech to give audio output, or may be a result of
a set of rules that are used to create artificial speech.
I/O Port

The peripheral devices can be connected to computer in several ways. Devices such as network adapters and sound
cards are connected to expansion slots inside the computer. Printers and scanners are connected to ports on the
backside of the computer. Also in a portable computer, the PC Card connects to the PC Card slot on it.

The I/O ports are the external interfaces that are used to connect input and output devices like printer, modem and
joystick to the computer. The I/O devices are connected to the computer via the serial and parallel ports, Universal Serial
Bus (USB) port, Fire wire port, etc.

1. Parallel Port: A parallel port is an interface for connecting eight or more data wires. The data flows through the eight
wires simultaneously. They can transmit eight bits of data in parallel. As a result, parallel ports provide high speed data
transmission. Parallel port is used to connect printer to the computer.

2. Serial Port: A serial port transmits one bit of data through a single wire. Since data is transmitted serially as single bits,
serial ports provide slow speed data transmission. Serial port is used to connect external modems, plotters, barcode
reader, etc.

3. USB Port: Nowadays, USB (Universal Serial Bus) is a common and popular external port available with computers.
Normally, two to four USB ports are provided on a PC. USB allows different devices to be connected to the computer
without requiring re-boot of the computer. USB also has the plug and play feature which allows devices ready to be run
simply by plugging them to the USB port. A single USB port can support connection of up to 127 devices.

4. Fire wire (IEEE 1394): It is used to connect audio and video multimedia devices like video camera. It is an expensive
technology and is used for large data movement. Hard disk drive and new DVD drives connect through fire wire. It has
data transfer rate of up to 400 MB/sec.

Working of I/O System

The working of I/O system combines I/O hardware and I/O software. The I/O hardware includes ports, buses and device
controllers for different devices, and I/O devices. The I/O software is the device driver software that may be embedded
with operating system or comes with each device. The working of I/O system is described as follows:

· I/O Devices are attached to computer via the ports of computer. There are many standard ports available on the
backside of the computer case like serial port and parallel port. If one or more devices use a common set of wires, it is
called a bus. For example, PCI bus, PCI Express bus, etc.
· Device Controller operates on a bus, a port or a device. It controls the signals on the wires of port or bus. The
controllers have one or more registers for data and control signals. Controller may be simple like a serial port controller for
a serial port, or, complex like a SCSI controller. Some devices have their own built-in controllers.
· Device Driver is software via which the operating system communicates with the device controllers. Each device
has its own device driver, and a device controller which is specific to the device. The device drivers hide the differences
among the different device controller and present a uniform interface to the operating system.
· Application programs use an I/O device by issuing commands and exchanging data with the device driver. The
device driver provides correct commands to the controller, interprets the controller register, and transfers data to and from
device controller registers as required for the correct device operation.

SOFTWARE
Introduction

Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provides the instructions
for telling a computer what to do and how to do it.

Any set of instructions that guides the hardware and tells it how to accomplish each task.
Firmware: Firmware are also software (program or data) that has been permanently written onto ROM.
Software may enter the computer through one of following three ways.
 It may be built into the computer circuit in the form of firmware.
 It may be loaded into the computer from a secondary storage device such as CD-ROM or hard disk
drives.
 It is also be typed into the computer with the aid of the keyboard and programming tools.

Relation between Hardware and Software

Software refers to the computer programs that are loaded into a computer system, and hardware refers to all the visible
devices, which are assembled together to build a computer system. The blending of software and hardware gives life to a
computer system. Even though hardware is the physical part of a computer, it is nothing unless it has software to control
it. Hardware and software then share a special relationship. If hardware is the 'heart' of a computer system, software is its
'soul'. Both are complimentary to each other. Hardware is of no use without software and software cannot be used without
hardware.
Types of Software
Based on the kind of task they perform; software can be divided into two major groups:
· System software &
· Application software.
System Software

- System software is computer software designed to operate the computer hardware to provide basic functionality
and to provide a platform for running application software.
- It also provides the interface between the user and component of the computer.
- Depending on the functionality, the system software can be further divided into two major categories:
§ For system management and functionality
§ For developing software.

A. For system management and functionality

It relates to the functioning of different components of the computer like processor, input and output devices etc. It
provides support for various services, as requested by the application software. It includes operating system, device
drivers and system utilities.

1. Operating System:
It consists of programs, which controls, coordinates and supervises the activities of the various components of a computer
system. Its function is to provide link between the computer hardware and the user.
It performs all internal management functions (disk access, memory management, task scheduling and user interfacing)
and ensures systematic functioning of a computer system. It provides an environment to run the programs. e.g., MS-DOS,
windows XP/2000/98, Unix Linux, etc.
2. Device drivers:
A software, which is written with the objective of making a device functional when it is connected to the computer is called
device driver. It is a system software that acts like an interface between the device and the user. Every device, whether it
is a printer, monitor, mouse or keyboard has a driver program associated with it for its proper functioning.
For example, when we give a command to read data from the hard disk, the command is sent to the hard disk driver and
is translated to a form that the hard disk can understand.

3. System Utilities:
System utility software is required for the maintenance of computer. System utilities are used for supporting and
enhancing the programs and the data in computer.
Some examples of system utilities are:
- Anti-virus utility to scan computer for viruses.
- Data Compression utility to compress the files.
- Cryptographic utility to encrypt and decrypt files.
- Disk Compression utility to compress contents of a disk for increasing the capacity of a disk.
- Disk Partitioning to divide a single drive into multiple logical drives. Each drive is then treated as an individual drive
and has its own file system.
- Disk Cleaners to find files that have not been used for a long time. It helps the user to decide what to delete when
the hard disk is full.

B. System software for developing application software

It is required for the development and execution of application software. It provides services required for the development
and execution of application software. The programming language software, translator software, loader, and linker are
also categorized as system software, and are required for the application software development.

1. Programming languages:
A Programming Language consists of a set of vocabulary and grammatical rules, to express the computations and tasks
that the computer has to perform. Programming languages are used to write a program, which controls the behavior of
computer, codify the algorithms precisely, or enables the human-computer interface. Programming Language usually
refers to high-level languages like COBOL, BASIC, FORTRAN, C, C++, Java etc. Programming languages fall into three
categories:
· Machine Language is what the computer can understand but it is difficult for the programmer to understand.
· Assembly Language falls in between machine language and high-level language. They are similar to machine
language, but easier to program in, because they allow the programmer to substitute names for numbers.
· High-level Language is easier to understand and use for the programmer but difficult for the computer.
2. Translator Software:
Translator software is used to convert a program written in high-level language and assembly language to a form that the
computer can understand. Translator software converts a program written in assembly language, and high-level language
to a machine-level language program. The translated program is called the object code. There are three different kind of
translator software:

· Assembler: It is a software that converts a program written in assembly languages into machine code.
· Compiler: It is a software that translates the program written in high-level languages to machine languages.
· Interpreter: It is a software that converts the high-level language program into computer understandable form.

3. Linker:
Linker is a program that links several object modules and libraries to a single executable program.
A source code may also include reference to libraries (header) and independent modules (functions) which may not be
stored in a single object file. The code is broken down into many independent modules for easy debugging and
maintenance. Before execution of the program, these modules and the required libraries are linked together using the
linker software. The compiled and the linked program are called the executable code.

4. Loader:
The loader software is used to load and re-locate the executable program in the main memory. Software has to be loaded
into the main memory during execution. Loader assigns storage space to the program in the main memory for execution

Application Software

The software that a user uses for accomplishing a specific task is the application software. Application software may be a
single program or a set of programs. A set of programs that are written for a specific purpose and provide the required
functionality is called software package.
There are two types of application software:

1. General Purpose Software:

General purpose software’s are designed to perform general tasks. Some of the general purpose application software are:
- Word processing software: For writing letters, reports, documents etc. E.g. MS-Word
- Spreadsheet software: Used for creating budgets, tables etc. E.g. MS-Excel
- Presentation software: To make presentations, slides shows etc. E.g. MS-Powerpoint.
- Image processing software: For drawing, editing photos or images, manipulating graphics etc. E.g. Adobe
photoshop.
etc.
2. Specific purpose software:
Specific purpose software are designed to perform specific tasks. This type of application software generally has one
purpose to execute.
Some of the specific purpose application software’s are:

- Reservation system: It is used to store and retrieve information and conduct transaction related to air travel,
hotels, car rental or other activities.
- Attendance system: It is used to track and optimize the presence of a person/ student in an organization or
school.
- Billing system: It is used to perform the billing process. It handles the tracking of ladled products and services
delivered to a customer or set of customers.
etc.

Software Acquisition

The act or process of acquiring software in different ways like purchase, download free from internet or get it bundled
along with hardware is called software acquisition. It is the way in which the software are made available to users.

Some of the ways in which the software are made available to users are as follows:
§ Retail software: It is the software sold in retail stores. It comes with printed manuals and installation instructions. For
E.g. MS windows OS

§ Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) software: It refers to software which is sold, and bundled with hardware.
Microsoft sells its operating system as OEM software to hardware dealers. OEM software is sold at reduced price, without
the manuals, packaging and installation instructions.

§ Shareware: It is a program that the user is allowed to try for free, for a specified period of time, as defined in the
license. It is downloadable from the Internet. When the trial period ends, the software must be purchased or uninstalled.

§ Freeware: It is software that is free for personal use. It is downloadable from the Internet. The commercial use of this
software may require a paid license. The author of the freeware software is the owner of the software, though others may
use it for free. The users abide by the license terms, where the user cannot make changes to it, or sell it to someone else.

§ Open source software: It is software whose source code is available and can be customized and altered within the
specified guidelines laid down by the creator. Unlike public domain software, open-source software has restrictions on
their use and modification, redistribution limitations, and copyrights. Linux, Apache, Firefox, OpenOffice are some
examples of open-source software.
§ Public Domain Software: It is free software. Unlike freeware, public domain software does not have a copyright owner
or license restrictions. The source code is publicly available for anyone to use. Public domain software can be modified by
the user.

§ Demo Software: It is designed to demonstrate what a purchased version of the software is capable of doing and
provides a restricted set of features. To use the software, the user must buy a fully- functional version.

Operating System

•An operating system is a program that acts as an intermediary between a user of a computer and the computer
hardware.
• The purpose of an operating system is to provide an environment in which a user can execute programs. The primary
goal of an operating system is thus to make the computer system convenient to use.
• A secondary goal is to use the computer hardware in an efficient manner.
Examples of OS
Some of the commonly used operating systems are Microsoft Disk Operating System (MSDOS), Windows 7, Windows
XP, Linux, UNIX, and Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

Types of Operating System

OS are classified into different types depending on their capability of processing as follows:

§ Single User and Single Task OS: As the name implies, this operating system is designed to manage the computer so
that one user can effectively do one thing at a time. Operating system for Personal Computers (PC) are single user OS.
MSDOS is an example of single user OS.

§ Single-user, multi-tasking: It allows execution of more than one task or process concurrently. For this, the processor
time is divided amongst different tasks. This division of time is also called time sharing. The processor switches rapidly
between processes. The user can switch between the applications and also transfer data between them. Windows 95 and
all later versions of Windows are examples of multitasking OS.

§ Multi-user OS: A multi-user operating system allows many different users to take advantage of the computer's
resources simultaneously. Multi-user is used in computer networks that allow same data and applications to be accessed
by multiple users at the same time. The users can also communicate with each other. Linux, UNIX, and Windows 7 are
examples of multiuser OS.

§ Multiprocessing OS: These OS have two or more processors for a single running process. Processing takes place in
parallel and is also called parallel processing. Each processor works on different parts of the same task, or, on two or
more different tasks. Since execution takes place in parallel, they are used for high speed execution, and to increase the
power of computer. Linux, UNIX and Windows 7 are examples of multiprocessing OS.

§ Real-time operating system (RTOS): Real Time OS are designed to respond to an event within a predetermined time.
These operating systems are used to control processes. Processing is done within a time constraint. OS monitors the
events that affect the execution of process and respond accordingly. LynxOS is an example of real time OS. RTOS is
used to control machinery, scientific instruments and industrial systems.

§ Embedded: Embedded OS is embedded in a device in the ROM. They are specific to a device and are less resource
intensive. They are used in appliances like microwaves, washing machines, traffic control systems etc.

§ Distributed: A distributed operating system manages a group of independent computers and makes them appear to be
a single computer.
Functions of Operating System

A brief overview of functions of OS are:

1. Process Management
A process is a program in a state of execution. It is a unit of work for the operating system. A process can be created,
executed, and stopped. There are many processes can be running the same program.
The process management activities handled by the OS are
 Control access to shared resources like file, memory, I/O and CPU,
 Control execution of applications
 Create, execute and delete a process (system process or user process),
 Cancel or resume a process
 Schedule a process, and
 Synchronization, communication and deadlock handling for processes.

2. Memory Management
The task of memory management is to handle the allocation of memory to different processes and on completion of
process execution, the memory is de-allocated and made available to another process. Additionally, different processes
that have been allocated memory should not interfere into each other’s memory space. This requires some memory
protection and sharing mechanism.
Memory allocation, de-allocation, reallocation of free memory, and memory protection & sharing are the jobs of OS and is
called memory management.
3. File Management
The file management function of the operating system involves handling the file system which consists of two parts:-a set
of files, and a directory structure.
File is a collection of related information. Directory structure provides information about the files stored on the secondary
storage. Directory contains information about all the files within it.
The file management tasks include:-
 Create and delete both files and directories,
 Provide access to files,
 Allocate space for files,
 Keep back-up of files, and
 Secure files.

4. Device Management
OS manages and controls the devices attached to the computer. It handles the devices by combining both hardware and
software techniques.
The device management tasks handled by OS are:-
- Open, close and write device drivers, and
- Communicate, control and monitor the device driver.
OS also provides various services related to I/O like I/O scheduling, buffering, spooling and error handling. Scheduling of
I/O requests involves ordering the requests to improve performance of the system. Buffer is a memory area that stores the
data, while it is being transferred between two devices or between a device and an application. Spool is a buffer in
memory area or disk where spooling stores the jobs in a spool which the device can access it when it is ready.

5. Protection and Security

OS protects the resources of system. User authentication, file attributes like read, write, encryption, and back-up of data
are used by OS to provide basic protection.

6. User Interface or Command Interpreter

Operating system provides an interface between the computer user and the computer hardware. The user interface is a
set of commands or a graphical user interface via which the user interacts with the applications and the hardware.