Features of operating system

Features of Operating System

Here is a list commonly found important features of an Operating System:

• Protected and supervisor mode
• Allows disk access and file systems Device drivers Networking Security
• Program Execution
• Memory management Virtual Memory Multitasking
• Handling I/O operations
• Manipulation of the file system
• Error Detection and handling
• Resource allocation
• Information and Resource Protection

What is a Kernel?

The kernel is the central component of a computer operating systems. The only job performed by the kernel is to the manage the communication between the software and the hardware. A Kernel is at the nucleus of a computer. It makes the communication between the hardware and software possible. While the Kernel is the innermost part of an operating system, a shell is the outermost one.

Features of Kennel

• Low-level scheduling of processes
• Inter-process communication
• Process synchronization
• Context switching

Types of Kernels

There are many types of kernels that exists, but among them, the two most popular kernels are:

1.Monolithic

A monolithic kernel is a single code or block of the program. It provides all the required services offered by the operating system. It is a simplistic design which creates a distinct communication layer between the hardware and software.

2. Microkernels

Microkernel manages all system resources. In this type of kernel, services are implemented in different address space. The user services are stored in user address space, and kernel services are stored under kernel address space. So, it helps to reduce the size of both the kernel and operating system.