Computer Fundamentals and System Concepts

Device drivers are software programs that allow the operating system to communicate with and control hardware devices. After physically installing a device like a printer or graphics card, you must install its driver for the computer to recognize and use it properly. Motherboard drivers are just one specific type.

The shell is the command interpreter that acts as an interface between the user and the UNIX kernel. It reads user commands, interprets them, and makes the appropriate system calls to execute them.

PID (Process IDentifier) uniquely identifies each running process in the system. It's used by the kernel for scheduling, resource management, and inter-process communication. Filenames use pathnames, inodes use inode numbers. 'All of the above' is incorrect.

The Operating System (OS) acts as the fundamental interface between users and computer hardware, managing resources and providing services. Compilers translate code, hardware is the physical machinery, and JCL is a job control language for batch systems - none of these directly serve as the user-computer interface like the OS does.

CPU temperature monitoring is critical for system stability and hardware protection. If the CPU overheats, immediate action (throttling or shutdown) is required to prevent permanent damage. User input devices (mouse, keyboard) have standard priority, and disk operations are important but less urgent than thermal protection. Hardware safety interrupts typically get highest priority.

This system is a combination of processors and special softwares that is inside another device such as the electronic ignition system in cars.

In this technique, the virtual machine simulates the complete hardware, allowing an unmodified operating system for a completely different CPU to be run in the virtual machine.

In this technique, the virtual machine only partially simulates enough hardware to allow an unmodified operating system to be run in isolation.

This system is a group of computers that work together closely so that in many respects, they can be viewed as though they are a single computer.

Multi-programmed:- More than one program can run on single CPU, when one is blocked. (1) Is true and a characteristic of multi-programmed (2) Is true & also characterise a multi-programmed OS (3) Is true but no necessary for this type this happens in all OS, even in batch processor.

When a computer is first turned on or restarted, a special absolute loader called a bootstrap loader is executed. This loader loads the operating system into memory. The term 'bootstrap' comes from 'pulling oneself up by bootstraps' - the loader gets the system running from nothing.

List of all processes in system is not present in activation record.

Supercomputer is a specially designed computer that performs complex calculations quickly.

Transformation of input into output is performed by CPU.