History of Operating Systems

These flashcards cover key concepts and terminology related to the history and evolution of operating systems, helping to prepare for an examination on the topic.

Phase 1

Hardware expensive, humans cheap.

Phase 2

Hardware cheap, humans expensive.

Phase 3

Hardware very cheap, humans very expensive.

Batch Processing

A method where programs are collected in batches to be executed together.

Multiprogramming

Running several programs simultaneously sharing the machine.

I/O

Input/Output, referring to the communication between an information processing system and the outside world.

Console

The physical interface used by a user to interact with a computer system.

Loader

A system software that loads programs into memory for execution.

Subroutine Library

A collection of reusable functions or programs.

Interrupt

A signal that temporarily halts a running process to allow another process to execute.

Spooling

A process that manages data flow from input devices to output devices.

Virtual Memory

The use of disk storage to extend the apparent size of RAM.

Thrashing

A situation where the system spends more time paging than executing processes.

Timely Response

The speed with which a computer system responds to user input.

Timesharing

A method that allows multiple users to share computer resources simultaneously.

Process Switching

The mechanism of switching between different processes.

Relocation

The process of assigning load addresses to program modules and adjusting the addresses of instructions.

Parallel Computing

A type of computation where many calculations or processes are carried out simultaneously.

Phase 2

Cheap Hardware, expensive humans

Time sharing, more protection, more concurrency, shell, file system, rapid process switching, virtual memory

problems: response time, thrashing

Phase 3

very cheap hardware, very expensive humans

personal computing, parallel and distributed computing