2.0 CHARECTERISTICS AND STRUCTURES OF OPERATING

Introduction

The operating system characteristic can be divided into two which is the

main and the supporting characteristic. In this unit we will discuss

about the support characteristic that involves efficiency, reliability,

maintainability and small size.

 Efficiency

Efficiency software can solve problem in short time. The efficiency

criteria measured by:

􀂾 Average time between job

􀂾 Processor idle time

􀂾 Turn-around time batch job

􀂾 Feedback time

􀂾 The use of computer resources

Even though the above factors could not optimize at the same time but

an efficient operating system can make full use of resources and

maximize the use of the system processors.

Efficiency in general describes the extent to which time or effort is well used for the intended task or purpose. It is often used with the specific gloss of relaying the capability of a specific application of effort to produce a specific outcome effectively with a minimum amount or quantity of waste, expense, or unnecessary effort.

Reliability

Reliability is typically far more important for real-time systems than

non-real time system. A reliable operating system is fail-soft

operation. The fail-soft is a characteristic that refers to the ability of a

system to fail such as possible for example a real-time system will

attempt to either correct the problem or maximize its affect while

continuing to run. One important aspect of fail-soft operation referred

to as stability.

Maintainability

A good operating system can be trouble shoot easily by a programmer

without using a longer time. Its modules are clear and the

documentation is complete to help the programmer to maintain the

operating.

 Small size

Operating system should be in a small size to reduce the use of

memory and storage. The operating system storage cannot be use to

run any user programs. The reduce of memory and storage allows the

user to use the memory to run their programs.