1. A \_\_\_\_\_ is an example of a systems program. A) command interpreter B) Web browser C) text formatter D) database system
Ans: A
Feedback: 2.2.1
Difficulty: Medium
2. If a program terminates abnormally, a dump of memory may be examined by a \_\_\_\_ to determine the cause of the problem. A) module B) debugger C) shell D) control card
Ans: B
Feedback: 2.4.1
Difficulty: Medium
- A message-passing model is ____.
A) easier to implement than a shared memory model for intercomputer communication
B) faster than the shared memory model
C) a network protocol, and does not apply to operating systems
D) only useful for small simple operating systems
Ans: A
Feedback: 2.4.5
Difficulty: Medium
4. Policy \_\_\_\_. A) determines how to do something B) determines what will be done C) is not likely to change across places D) is not likely to change over time
Ans: B
Feedback: 2.6.2
Difficulty: Easy
- The major difficulty in designing a layered operating system approach is ____.
A) appropriately defining the various layers
B) making sure that each layer hides certain data structures, hardware, and operations from higher-level layers
C) debugging a particular layer
D) making sure each layer is easily converted to modules
Ans: A
Feedback:: 2.7.2
Difficulty: Medium
- A microkernel is a kernel ____.
A) containing many components that are optimized to reduce resident memory size
B) that is compressed before loading in order to reduce its resident memory size
C) that is compiled to produce the smallest size possible when stored to disk
D) that is stripped of all nonessential components
Ans: D
Feedback: 2.7.3
Difficulty: Easy
- To the SYSGEN program of an operating system, the least useful piece of information is _____.
A) the CPU being used
B) amount of memory available
C) what applications to install
D) operating-system options such as buffer sizes or CPU scheduling algorithms
Ans: C
Feedback: 2.9
Difficulty: Medium
- A boot block ____.
A) typically only knows the location and length of the rest of the bootstrap program
B) typically is sophisticated enough to load the operating system and begin its execution
C) is composed of multiple disk blocks
D) is composed of multiple disk cylinders
Ans: A
Feedback: 2.10
Difficulty: Medium
9. \_\_\_\_\_ provide(s) an interface to the services provided by an operating system. A) Shared memory B) System calls C) Simulators D) Communication
Ans: B
Feedback: 2.3
Difficulty: Medium
10. \_\_\_\_\_ is not one of the major categories of system calls. A) Process control B) Communications C) Protection D) Security
Ans: D
Feedback: 2.4
Difficulty: Easy
11. \_\_\_\_\_ allow operating system services to be loaded dynamically. A) Virtual machines B) Modules C) File systems D) Graphical user interfaces
Ans: B
Feedback: 2.7.4
Difficulty: Medium
12. Microkernels use \_\_\_\_\_ for communication. A) message passing B) shared memory C) system calls D) virtualization
Ans: A
Feedback: 2.7.3
Difficulty: Easy
13. The Windows CreateProcess() system call creates a new process. What is the equivalent system call in UNIX: A) NTCreateProcess() B) process() C) fork() D) getpid()
Ans: C
Feedback: 2.4.1
Difficulty: Easy
14. The close() system call in UNIX is used to close a file. What is the equivalent system call in Windows: A) CloseHandle() B) close() C) CloseFile() D) Exit()
Ans: A
Feedback: 2.4.1
Difficulty: Easy
15. The Windows CreateFile() system call is used to create a file. What is the equivalent system call in UNIX: A) ioctl() B) open() C) fork() D) createfile()
Ans: B
Feedback: 2.4.1
Difficulty: Easy
16. Android runs Java programs \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ A) in the Dalvik virtual machine. B) natively. C) in the Java virtual machine. D) Android does not run Java programs.
Ans: A
Feedback: 2.7.5
Difficulty: Medium
17. \_\_\_\_\_\_ is a mobile operating system designed for the iPhone and iPad. A) Mac OS X B) Android C) UNIX D) iOS
Ans: D
Feedback: 2.7.5
Difficulty: Medium
18. The \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ provides a portion of the system call interface for UNIX and Linux. A) POSIX B) Java C) Standard C library D) Standard API
Ans: C
Feedback: 2.4.1
Difficulty: Medium
- Which of the following statements is incorrect?
A) An operating system provides an environment for the execution of programs.
B) An operating system manages system resources.
C) Operating systems provide both command line as well as graphical user interfaces.
D) Operating systems must provide both protection and security.
Ans: C
Feedback: 2.1
Difficulty: Easy
20. \_\_\_\_\_ is/are not a technique for passing parameters from an application to a system call. A) Cache memory B) Registers C) Stack D) Special block in memory
Ans: A
Feedback: 2.3
Difficulty: Medium
- There are two different ways that commands can be processed by a command interpreter. One way is to allow the command interpreter to contain the code needed to execute the command. The other way is to implement the commands through system programs. Compare and contrast the two approaches.
Ans: In the first approach, upon the user issuing a command, the interpreter jumps to the appropriate section of code, executes the command, and returns control back to the user. In the second approach, the interpreter loads the appropriate program into memory along with the appropriate arguments. The advantage of the first method is speed and overall simplicity. The disadvantage to this technique is that new commands require rewriting the interpreter program which, after a number of modifications, may get complicated, messy, or too large. The advantage to the second method is that new commands can be added without altering the command interpreter. The disadvantage is reduced speed and the clumsiness of passing parameters from the interpreter to the system program.
Feedback: 2.2
Difficulty: Hard
- Describe the relationship between an API, the system-call interface, and the operating system.
Ans: The system-call interface of a programming language serves as a link to system calls made available by the operating system. This interface intercepts function calls in the API and invokes the necessary system call within the operating system. Thus, most of the details of the operating-system interface are hidden from the programmer by the API and are managed by the run-time support library.
Feedback: 2.3
Difficulty: Hard
- Describe three general methods used to pass parameters to the operating system during system calls.
Ans: The simplest approach is to pass the parameters in registers. In some cases, there may be more parameters than registers. In these cases, the parameters are generally stored in a block, or table, of memory, and the address of the block is passed as a parameter in a register. Parameters can also be placed, or pushed, onto the stack by the program and popped off the stack by the operating system.
Feedback: 2.3
Difficulty: Medium
- What are the advantages of using a higher-level language to implement an operating system?
Ans: The code can be written faster, is more compact, and is easier to understand and debug. In addition, improvements in compiler technology will improve the generated code for the entire operating system by simple recompilation. Finally, an operating system is far easier to port — to move to some other hardware — if it is written in a higher-level language.
Feedback: 2.6.3
Difficulty: Medium
