Operating Systems 1&2

59. A signal is the software analog of a. a hardware interrupt. b. a timer expiration. c. a system call.

a. a hardware interrupt. (page 21)

39. The acronym GUI stands for what? a. Global User Internet b. Graphical User Interface c. General User Interface

b. Graphical User Interface (page 15)

It has been said that the operating system is that portion of a system's software that runs in kernel mode or supervisor mode. Why is this definition inadequate? a. Parts of the user program typically run in kernel mode when they are accessing protected memory or devices, even though they are not part of the operating system. b. Operating systems written in high-level languages, like Java, do not ever run in kernel mode. c. Some systems (like MINIX 3) run traditional operating system components in user mode. Still others may run multiple operating systems in user mode, with special virtualization software used to multiplex the real hardware resources between the operating systems.

a. Parts of the user program typically run in kernel mode when they are accessing protected memory or devices, even though they are not part of the operating system. (slide 16)

17. To what does the acronym spooling refer? a. Simultaneous Peripheral Operations On Line b. Secondary Pattern Operation Off-Loading c. Shared Partial Object-Oriented Linking

a. Simultaneous Peripheral Operations On Line (page 11)

44. Which of the following operating systems is most frequently used on high-end computer workstations and network servers? a. UNIX (or a derivative) b. DEC's VAX/VMS c. IBM's OS-390

a. UNIX (or a derivative) (page 15)

70. The binary protection code in MINIX 3 has a. 11 bits. b. 9 bits. c. 8 bits

a. 11 bits. (page 23)

32. In what year was the Intel 8080 introduced? a. 1974 b. 1984 c. 1964

a. 1974 (page 14)

Who designed the first true digital computer? a. Charles Babbage b. Konrad Zuse c. Fred Brooks

a. Charles Babbage page 6

11. Actions taken by a computer in processing a batch job were primarily controlled by what? a. Control cards such as $JOB, $LOAD, and $RUN b. A key inserted by the operator into a slot on the computer c. A script (of sorts) selected by the setting of a group of switches on the front panel of the computer

a. Control cards such as $JOB, $LOAD, and $RUN page 9

At the machine language level, how are devices controlled? a. Each unique device has some read-only memory that contains a set of functions written in machine language, and these functions can be called to control the device. Thus a serial port on a Intel system would necessarily be different from a serial port on a Sun SPARC system. b. Special registers called device registers can be loaded to direct a device to perform an operation. c. Devices are not controlled by anything at the machine language level. All device control is done at the microarchitecture level.

a. Each unique device has some read-only memory that contains a set of functions written in machine language, and these functions can be called to control the device. Thus a serial port on a Intel system would necessarily be different from a serial port on a Sun SPARC system. (Slide 11)

22. The MULTICS system was designed to run on which of the following processors? a. IBM System/360 b. GE 645 c. Cray I

a. IBM System/360 (?)

31. What is POSIX? a. It is a standard for UNIX that defines a minimal system call interface. b. It is the hardware on which development of the UNIX operating system was developed. c. It is the first Apple operating system that ran on Intel processors.

a. It is a standard for UNIX that defines a minimal system call interface. (page 14)

12. Just before the introduction of IBM 360 computer systems, what were the main types of computers available? a. Number-crunching scientific systems and character-oriented systems for sorting and printing b. Analog systems for engineering simulations and digital systems for data processing c. Systems with 32 bits per word, 36 bits per word, and those with 60 bits per word

a. Number-crunching scientific systems and character-oriented systems for sorting and printing (page 9)

19. How are timesharing and multiprogramming related? a. Timesharing is a variant of multiprogramming where each user has an online terminal. b. Timesharing and multiprogramming are different approaches to optimizing the use of primary memory which is typically underutilized if only a single program at a time is executed. c. Timesharing is used to allow multiple users at online terminals to access the same program but different data (for example, airline reservation systems).

a. Timesharing is a variant of multiprogramming where each user has an online terminal. (page 11)

96. Which of the following system calls is probably the most heavily used? a. fork b. read c. close

b. read (page 34)

97. The read and write system calls have three parameters. The second parameter is a. a pointer to an integer into which will be stored the number of bytes actually read or written when the call completes. b. an integer containing the file descriptor. c. a pointer to a buffer

a. a pointer to an integer into which will be stored the number of bytes actually read or written when the call completes. *(?)

54. A process is a. a program in execution. b. the set of instructions executed in kernel mode by a system call. c. the set of control cards used to run a batch program.

a. a program in execution. (page 20)

62. A directory is a. a way of grouping files together. b. an alphabetical listing of the files on a system. c. a list of all authorized users for a system.

a. a way of grouping files together. (page 22)

76. A block special file a. can be used to model a disk. b. is a virtual file that contains a list of blocked processes. c. can only appear in a mounted file system.

a. can be used to model a disk. (page 24-25)

63. Entries in directories may be files or a. directories. b. memory addresses. c. process IDs.

a. directories. (page 22)

81. Placing an ampersand after a command a. directs the shell to not wait for the command to complete before prompting for another command. b. causes the output of the command to be discarded. c. causes the command to be treated as a comment (that is, not executed).

a. directs the shell to not wait for the command to complete before prompting for another command. (?)

52. The CMS system a. is a single-user interactive system commonly used with VM/370. b. was the first operating system used on the Intel 8080. c. none of the above.

a. is a single-user interactive system commonly used with VM/370 (?)

What device(s) was(were) used for the input of jobs to, and output of results from, the main computer in a batch computing system? a. magnetic tape b. floppy disks c. DVDs

a. magnetic tape slide 21

95. Which of the following system calls may be used to create a special file? a. mknod b. newspec c. crspec

a. mknod (page 34)

25. The term middleware is used to describe a. software used in heterogeneous environments to bridge the gap between local users and remote servers. b. programs, usually placed in read-only memory, that are used to eliminate the need for an operating system to deal with the very low-level details of an input/output device. c. operating systems used on systems that normally run a different operating system (for example, software that allows Windows executables to run on a Macintosh.)

a. software used in heterogeneous environments to bridge the gap between local users and remote servers. (page 13)

98. The lseek system call is used to a. specify the file offset of the next byte in a file to be read or written. b. seek in a file for a specified contiguous string of bytes. c. seek to the beginning of the next line in a file.

a. specify the file offset of the next byte in a file to be read or written. (page 34)

37. Which microprocessor was used in the first IBM PC? a. the 8088 b. the 6800 c. the 8086

a. the 8088 (page 14)

13. The first major computer to use integrated circuits was a. the IBM 360. b. the IBM 1620. c. the Bendix G-15.

a. the IBM 360. (slide 23)

72. If the x permission bit is set for a directory, then a. the directory may be searched. b. no files in the directory may be executed. c. the directory is being exclusively used by a user.

a. the directory may be searched. (page 23-24)

49. System calls are a. the extended instructions provided by an operating system. b. calls from the operating system to device drivers. c. network requests made by a network or distributed operating system.

a. the extended instructions provided by an operating system. (page 19)

35. What was the 6800? a. the first microprocessor manufactured by Motorola b. the microprocessor used in Apple-II computer systems c. the first microprocessor manufactured by MOS Technology

a. the first microprocessor manufactured by Motorola (page 14)

36. What was the 6502? a. the microprocessor used in Apple II computer systems b. the first microprocessor manufactured by Motorola c. the first microprocessor manufactured by IBM

a. the microprocessor used in Apple II computer systems (page 14)

66. The directory at the top of the directory hierarchy is called a. the root directory. b. the primary allocation. c. the master directory.

a. the root directory. (page 22)

67. An absolute path starts with a. the root directory. b. the primary allocation. c. the first entry in the file system hash table.

a. the root directory. (page 22)

61. In UNIX, which user is endowed with special powers, and may violate many of the protection rules? a. the superuser b. the operator c. the primary user

a. the superuser (page 22)

26. In which generation of computers was the first minicomputer developed? a. the third generation b. the fourth generation c. the second generation

a. the third generation (page 13)

77. A pipe is a. used to allow two processes to communicate by reading and writing the pipe. b. a path from primary memory to a device like a disk. c. a sequence of commands on a single shell input line.

a. used to allow two processes to communicate by reading and writing the pipe. (page 25)

43. The Microsoft Windows operating system a. was originally a GUI that ran on top of MS-DOS. b. was originally a derivative of the NT operating system. c. was the first to run on a 32-bit processor.

a. was originally a GUI that ran on top of MS-DOS. (page 15)

53. How many bytes of data were contained on a punched card? a. 500 b. 80 c. 100

b. 80 (slide 4)

14. Multiprogramming attempts to eliminate significant waste of what computer system resource(s)? a. disks b. CPU c. tape drives

b. CPU (slide 25)

20. CTSS is the acronym for a. CPU-Terminal Synchronization System b. Compatible Time Sharing System c. Common Terminal Sequencing System

b. Compatible Time Sharing System (page 12)

16. What unrealistic goal was associated with the OS/360 operating system? a. It had to run well on small and large systems, on commercial and scientific systems, on systems with few and with many peripheral devices, and it had to be efficient in all cases. b. It had to support emulation of the IBM 1401 and IBM 7094 so the work being done in the predecessor batch systems could be moved seamlessly to the 360. c. It had to eliminate the need for the use of punched cards.

b. It had to support emulation of the IBM 1401 and IBM 7094 so the work being done in the predecessor batch systems could be moved seamlessly to the 360. (page 10)

28. What was the PDP-1? a. It was the first system to use multiprocessing. b. It was the first minicomputer. c. It was the first UNIX operating system.

b. It was the first minicomputer. (page 13)

47. The developer of Linux was significantly influenced by which of the following operating systems? a. VAX/VMS b. MINIX c. OS-390

b. MINIX (page 19)

38. Which operating system dominated the early IBM PC market? a. OS-360 b. MS-DOS c. CP/M

b. MS-DOS (page 14-15)

What are the major functions of an operating system? a. Perform input/output on disks (and other similar devices) and terminals (keyboards, mice, and displays), and allocate and deallocate primary memory for user processes. b. Provide an extended machine which is easier to use than the bare hardware, and manage the use of complex system resources. c. Provide the tools needed for a particular domain of use for a computer system. For example, to a software developer the operating system might provide at least one text editor, compiler, linker and debugger. For an office worker the operating system might provide a word processor, spreadsheet, web browser, and e-mail client programs. What the operating system provides depends on the user's application domain

b. Provide an extended machine which is easier to use than the bare hardware, and manage the use of complex system resources. (slide 8)

91. What happens when a signal is sent to a process, and the process has indicated it is willing to handle that particular signal? a. The process to which the signal was sent is terminated, and a new process begins execution with the signal handler. b. The signal handler for the signal is called, if the signal's delivery has not been blocked. c. A new process is created automatically to handle the execution of the signal handler; this process terminates when the signal handler returns.

b. The signal handler for the signal is called, if the signal's delivery has not been blocked. *(?)

46. What is a major difference between a network operating system and a distributed operating system? a. A distributed OS always requires significantly more primary memory for each processor than a network OS. b. With a network OS, users are aware of the existence of multiple computers; a distributed OS appears to users as a traditional uniprocessor OS. c. A network OS obviously requires a network to connect the individual machines; a distributed OS only needs multiple processors (as in, for example, a modern multicore processor).

b. With a network OS, users are aware of the existence of multiple computers; a distributed OS appears to users as a traditional uniprocessor OS. (page 16)

64. A hierarchy of directories gives rise to the concept of a. a volume label. b. a file system. c. a linked list.

b. a file system. (page 22)

73. A file descriptor is a. a checksum of a file's contents used to detect tampering. b. a small integer returned from a file open operation. c. the depth of a file in the directory hierarchy.

b. a small integer returned from a file open operation. (page 24)

78. A shell is a. an application program used for sorting. b. an application program that is not part of the operating system. c. an archaic name for a directory.

b. an application program that is not part of the operating system. (page 25)

84. In most cases, after calling fork a new child process will a. send a signal to its parent process notifying it that the process creation was successful. b. call one of the exec* system calls to load and execute a different program. c. call fork again to create another process.

b. call one of the exec* system calls to load and execute a different program. (slide 47)

57. Suppose a process successfully executes the system call to create a new process. That new process is usually referred to as a a. worker process. b. child process. c. slave process.

b. child process. (page 21)

94. Which of the following system calls may be used to create a file? a. fconstr b. creat c. make_file

b. creat (page 33)

79. When a shell is given a user command to execute, it a. checks to see if the owner of the file containing the program to be executed has explicitly allowed the current user to execute the command. b. creates a child process to execute the command. c. searches for the command in its list of acceptable commands, and if found, executes the function for that command.

b. creates a child process to execute the command. (page 27)

71. Suppose the owner's rwx bits for a particular file are set to --x. This means the owner may a. unencrypt the file. b. execute the file. c. move the file to a different location in the directory hierarchy.

b. execute the file. (page 23)

89. Which system call returns the process ID of the caller? a. rpid b. getpid c. pidextr

b. getpid (page 31)

86. The first argument to the function with which the execution of a process begins a. a pointer to the process table entry for the process. b. is an integer that indicates the number of string arguments pointed to by entries in the second argument. c. a pointer to an integer that indicates the number of command line arguments.

b. is an integer that indicates the number of string arguments pointed to by entries in the second argument. (page 29)

88. The sbrk system call a. is preferred by programmers over malloc. b. is used to change the size of the data segment for a process. c. is used to set breakpoints during a debugging session.

b. is used to change the size of the data segment for a process. (page 31)

93. Which of the following system calls may be used to send a signal? a. signal b. kill c. transmit

b. kill *(page 33)

75. A special file a. is one that is encrypted. b. makes an I/O device look like a file. c. a file that contains a script that can be interpreted.

b. makes an I/O device look like a file. (page 24)

100. The pipe system call, if successful, a. is only used by a shell to connect the standard output of one command to the standard input of another. b. results in the creation of two open file descriptors, one for reading, and one for writing. c. creates a virtual file that can then be opened for reading and writing.

b. results in the creation of two open file descriptors, one for reading, and one for writing. (page 35-36)

15. Which of the following special features is needed to support multiprogramming? a. memory protection hardware b. tagged memory architecture c. fast carry look-ahead generators

b. tagged memory architecture (slide 25)

87. The regions of memory into which a MINIX 3 process are divided are a. prog (containing code), var (containing variables), and const (containing constants). b. text (containing code), data (containing variables), and stack. c. allocated using memory that originally belonged to the parent process.

b. text (containing code), data (containing variables), and stack. (page 30)

51. One modern processor that provides hardware support for the ring mechanism is a. the Intel Pentium. b. the IBM PowerPC. c. all of the above.

b. the IBM PowerPC. (?)

29. What was the last computer in the PDP series? a. the PDP-9 b. the PDP-11 c. the PDP-10

b. the PDP-11 (page 13)

68. If a path is not absolute, it begins with a. the first entry in the file system hash table. b. the current working directory. c. the primary allocation.

b. the current working directory. (page 23)

45. The X Window system is a. an experimental Microsoft product that may eventually replace Windows. b. the windowing system most commonly found on UNIX systems. c. the predecessor to the Y Window system.

b. the windowing system most commonly found on UNIX systems. (page 15)

50. The MULTICS operating system a. was designed as an illustration of the layering concept, but was never actually implemented. b. utilized hardware support for a series of concentric rings, with more privileged code executing running in smaller-numbered rings. c. None of the above.

b. utilized hardware support for a series of concentric rings, with more privileged code executing running in smaller-numbered rings. (?)

Which of the following devices was used in the first generation of real digital computers (that is, those that were actually built and used)? a. transistors b. vacuum tubes c. LSI technology

b. vacuum tubes page 7

85. A shell, after creating a process to execute a command, will typically a. delay a few seconds to allow the new process to get started. b. wait for the child process to terminate. c. allocate memory for the next command to be executed.

b. wait for the child process to terminate. (page 29)

82. POSIX procedure calls generally return ____ to indicate an error. a. 1 b. 999 c. -1

c. -1 (?)

92. What is the difference between ignoring a signal and blocking a signal? a. An ignored signal is delivered to a signal handler that always immediately returns; a blocked signal is never delivered to any signal handler. Thus ignored signals take longer to handle than blocked signals. b. A blocked signal is delivered to a signal handler that always immediately returns; an ignored signal is never delivered to any signal handler. Thus blocked signals take longer to handle than ignored signals. c. An ignored signal is discarded; a blocked signal remains pending and will be delivered if the signal is later unblocked.

c. An ignored signal is discarded; a blocked signal remains pending and will be delivered if the signal is later unblocked. (page 32)

34. What was the name of the most popular operating system used on Intel 8080 computer systems? a. OS-80 b. AOS c. CP/M

c. CP/M (page 14)

27. What company developed the first minicomputer? a. GE b. IBM c. DEC

c. DEC (page 13)

58. Which of the following will result in a signal being sent to a process? a. A process executes an illegal instruction. b. A timer set by a process expires. c. Each of the above will result in a signal being sent.

c. Each of the above will result in a signal being sent. (page 21)

42. What was the major distinguishing feature of the operating system for the Apple Macintosh? a. It was built on top of the Apple II's operating system. b. It was the first operating system for a RISC processor. c. It provided a graphical user interface.

c. It provided a graphical user interface. (page 15)

10. For what purpose was the IBM 1401 computer frequently used? a. It was used as a telecommunications front-end processor. b. It was often used as a web server. c. It was often used to copy jobs from punched cards to magnetic tape, and to copy results from magnetic tape to line printers.

c. It was often used to copy jobs from punched cards to magnetic tape, and to copy results from magnetic tape to line printers. slide 21

48. The acronym LAMP is sometimes used to refer to a. Limited API MultiProcessors b. Low-Allocation Memory Programs c. Linux, Apache, MySQL, and Perl or PHP.

c. Linux, Apache, MySQL, and Perl or PHP. (page 19)

Who was the father of the person after whom the Ada (reg tm) programming language was named? a. Fred Brooks b. Andrew Tanenbaum c. Lord Byron

c. Lord Byron slide 17

30. On which computer system was UNIX development first started? a. Bendix G15 b. IBM 360 c. PDP-7

c. PDP-7 (page 13)

23. In what programming language was MULTICS written? a. FORTRAN b. JOVIAL c. PL/I

c. PL/I (page 12)

The first microprocessors did not have separate modes for the kernel or supervisor and user. Of what significance is this to the operating system for such a microprocessor? a. The significance of this is that only one user program is allowed to be in memory at a time, since there is no way to prevent interaction between multiple user programs should they be simultaneously resident. b. As long as the user applications are developed using interpretive languages like Perl, PHP, and Python, there really shouldn't be any problems for the operating system, since the interpreter can detect user actions that would cause problems before they occur. c. Plenty! In these systems there is no way to prevent user programs and applications from intentionally or unintentionally corrupting code and data structures belonging to the operating system, or from attempting to use a shared I/O device.

c. Plenty! In these systems there is no way to prevent user programs and applications from intentionally or unintentionally corrupting code and data structures belonging to the operating system, or from attempting to use a shared I/O device. (slide 16)

41. The acronym ROM stands for what? a. Rapid Operation Microprocessor b. Relative Offset Mask c. Read Only Memory

c. Read Only Memory (page 15)

A computer system's resources can be shared in two ways. What are these? a. Sharing in place: each user can only use the resource where it is located; and sharing by relocation: users may move the resource to meet their needs. b. Sharing by need: a user whose work cannot be completed without the resource is first given the resource; and sharing by demand: a user whose work explicitly demans the resource (whether it is needed now or not) is given the resource. c. Sharing in time: user 1, user 2, user 1, ...; and sharing in space: user 1 and user 2 each get part of the resource.

c. Sharing in time: user 1, user 2, user 1, ...; and sharing in space: user 1 and user 2 each get part of the resource. page 6

60. Every user of a MINIX 3 (or UNIX) system is identified by a. a smart card with an embedded IC and hologram. b. a GID. c. a UID and a GID.

c. a UID and a GID. (page 22)

83. If the fork system call returns successfully, a. an additional thread has been created for the process that called fork. b. one or more additional threads have been created for the process that called fork. c. a child process has been created.

c. a child process has been created. (slide 45)

21. The MULTICS concept is most similar to which of the following? a. a trash collection service b. a world-wide shipping service c. a power distribution system

c. a power distribution system (slide 27)

56. A shell is a. a representation of the memory region that will be used by a process that is being created. b. a process that is just a placeholder for another process that is being created. c. a process that reads commands and arranges for their execution.

c. a process that reads commands and arranges for their execution. (page 20)

55. A process table is a. a table that maps from user IDs to process IDs. b. a table that maps from user IDs to the primary memory regions occupied by processes. c. an array or linked list of structures with one entry for each process in existence.

c. an array or linked list of structures with one entry for each process in existence. (page 20)

74. A mounted file system is a. one that has been copied from a removable device. b. immutable (that is, it cannot be modified). c. attached to a directory using the mount system call.

c. attached to a directory using the mount system call. (page 24)

69. A process can change its current working directory a. by closing the current working directory and opening the new working directory. b. by writing the new working directory name into the root directory. c. by issuing the appropriate system call.

c. by issuing the appropriate system call. (page 23)

80. If a shell is given the command who | wc -l, it will a. run the who command, and it if completes successfully, then run the wc -l command. b. run the who command, and it if fails, then run the wc -l command. c. connect the output of the who command to the input of the wc -l command and run both commands at the same time.

c. connect the output of the who command to the input of the wc -l command and run both commands at the same time. (?)

33. The Intel 8080 is what class of computer? a. minicomputer b. mainframe c. microcomputer

c. microcomputer (page 14)

18. When a system uses spooling, a. object-oriented linking of relocatable object modules eliminates the need for a separate link step or a linking loader. b. programs are validated for execution by the presence of digital signatures called licenses. c. off-line systems to copy cards to tape and tape to print are not necessary.

c. off-line systems to copy cards to tape and tape to print are not necessary. (page 11)

65. Each file in a directory hierarchy can be identified by giving its a. directory name. b. file name. c. path name.

c. path name. (page 22)

99. The dup system call a. duplicates the contents of a file and gives it a new file name. b. repeats the last read or write operation on a file, but at the updated file offset. c. returns a file descriptor that references the same file as another that referenced by another open file descriptor.

c. returns a file descriptor that references the same file as another that referenced by another open file descriptor. (page 35)

90. Which system call may be used by a process to announce that it is prepared to handle a particular type of signal? a. signal_setup b. ssig c. sigaction

c. sigaction (page 32)

40. What processor was first used in the Apple Macintosh? a. the Intel Xeon b. the Sun SPARC c. the Motorola 68000

c. the Motorola 68000 (page 15)

24. One possible advantage of connecting a group of PCs or workstations via a LAN to a fileserver is that a. the individual PCs need not have homogeneous processor types. b. the PCs can be used as a parallel system. c. the administrator has to install and protect only one set of programs and data

c. the administrator has to install and protect only one set of programs and data (page 13)