BOOTING In computing, booting (also known as booting up) is the initial set of operations that a computer system performs

when electrical power is switched on. The process begins when a computer that has been turned off is re-energized, and ends when the computer is ready to perform its normal operations. On modern general purpose computers, this can take tens of seconds and typically involves performing power-on self-test, locating and initializing peripheral devices, and then finding, loading and starting an operating system . A boot loader is a computer program that loads the main operating system or runtime environment for the computer after completion of self-tests. Hard boot and soft boot VARIOUS MANAGEMENT FOR OS

1. Process management
The main task of a kernel is to allow the execution of applications and support them with features such as hardware abstractions. A process defines which memory portions the application can access. Kernel process management must take into account the hardware built-in equipment for memory protection. To run an application, a kernel typically sets up an address space for the application, loads the file containing the application's code into memory (perhaps via demand paging), sets up a stack for the program and branches to a given location inside the program, thus starting its execution. Multi-tasking kernels are able to give the user the illusion that the number of processes being run simultaneously on the computer is higher than the maximum number of processes the computer is physically able to run simultaneously. In a pre-emptive multitasking system, the kernel will give every program a slice of time and switch from process to process so quickly that it will appear to the user as if these processes were being executed simultaneously. The kernel uses scheduling algorithms to determine which process is running next and how much time it will be given. The algorithm chosen may allow for some processes to have higher priority than others. The kernel generally also provides these processes a way to communicate; this is known as inter-process communication (IPC) and the main approaches are shared memory, message passing and remote procedure calls (see concurrent computing). Other systems (particularly on smaller, less powerful computers) may provide co-operative multitasking, where each process is allowed to run uninterrupted until it makes a special request that tells the kernel it may switch to another process. Such requests are known as "yielding", and typically occur in response to requests for interprocess communication, or for waiting for an event to occur. The operating system might also support multiprocessing in that case, different programs and threads may run on different processors. A kernel for such a system must be designed to be re-entrant, meaning that it may safely run two different parts of its code simultaneously. This typically means providing synchronization mechanisms (such as spinlocks) to ensure that no two processors attempt to modify the same data at the same time

2. Memory management
The kernel has full access to the system's memory and must allow processes to safely access this memory as they require it. Often the first step in doing this is virtual addressing, usually achieved by paging and/or segmentation. Virtual addressing allows the kernel to make a given physical address appear to be another address, the virtual address. On many systems, a program's virtual address may refer to data which is not currently in memory. The layer of indirection provided by virtual addressing allows the operating system to use other data stores, like a hard drive, to store what would otherwise have to remain in main memory (RAM). As a result, operating systems can allow programs to use more memory than the system has physically available. When a program needs data which is not currently in RAM, the CPU signals to the kernel that this has happened, and the kernel responds by writing the contents of an inactive memory block to disk (if necessary) and replacing it with the data requested by the program. The program can then be resumed from the point where it was stopped. This scheme is generally known as demand paging. Virtual addressing also allows creation of virtual partitions of memory in two disjointed areas, one being reserved for the kernel (kernel space) and the other for the applications (user space). The applications are not permitted by the processor to address kernel memory, thus preventing an application from damaging the running kernel.

3. Device management
To perform useful functions, processes need access to the peripherals connected to the computer, which are controlled by the kernel through device drivers. A device driver is a computer program that enables the operating system to interact with a hardware device. It provides the operating system with information of how to control and communicate with a certain piece of hardware. The driver is an important and vital piece to a program application. The design goal of a driver is abstraction; the function of the driver is to translate the OS-mandated function calls (programming calls) into device-specific calls. In theory, the device should work correctly with the suitable driver. Device drivers are used for such things as video cards, sound cards, printers, scanners, modems, and LAN cards. The common levels of abstraction of device drivers are: 1. On the hardware side: Interfacing directly. Using a high level interface (Video BIOS). Using a lower-level device driver (file drivers using disk drivers). Simulating work with hardware, while doing something entirely different.

2. On the software side: Allowing the operating system direct access to hardware resources.

Implementing only primitives. Implementing an interface for non-driver software (Example: TWAIN). Implementing a language, sometimes high-level (Example PostScript).

For example, to show the user something on the screen, an application would make a request to the kernel, which would forward the request to its display driver, which is then responsible for actually plotting the character/pixel.

4. SYSTEM CALLS
System calls provide an interface between the process and the operating system. System calls allow user-level processes to request some services from the operating system which process itself is not allowed to do. In handling the trap, the operating system will enter in the kernel mode, where it has access to privileged instructions, and can perform the desired service on the behalf of user-level process. It is because of the critical nature of operations that the operating system itself does them every time they are needed. For example, for I/O a process involves a system call telling the operating system to read or write particular area and this request is satisfied by the operating system.

DESIGN OF A KERNEL

The kernel is the essential center of a computer operating system, the core that provides basic services for all other parts of the operating system. A synonym is nucleus. Typically, a kernel (or any comparable center of an operating system) includes an interrupt handler that handles all requests or completed I/O operations that compete for the kernel's services, a scheduler that determines which programs share the kernel's processing time in what order, and a supervisor that actually gives use of the computer to each process when it is scheduled. A kernel may also include a

manager of the operating system's address spaces in memory or storage, sharing these among all components and other users of the kernel's services. A kernel's services are requested by other parts of the operating system or by application programs through a specified set of program interfaces sometimes known as system calls.
In computing, the kernel is the main component of most computer operating systems; it is a bridge between applications and the actual data processing done at the hardware level. A kernel connects the
application software to the hardware of a computer

The kernel's primary function is to manage the computer's resources and allow other programs to run and use these resources. Typically, the resources consist of: The Central Processing Unit. This is the most central part of a computer system, responsible for running or executing programs. The kernel takes responsibility for deciding at any time which of the many running programs should be allocated to the processor or processors (each of which can usually run only one program at a time) The computer's memory. Memory is used to store both program instructions and data. Typically, both need to be present in memory in order for a program to execute. Often multiple programs will want access to memory, frequently demanding more memory than the computer has available. The kernel is responsible for deciding which memory each process can use, and determining what to do when not enough is available. Any Input/Output (I/O) devices present in the computer, such as keyboard, mouse, disk drives, printers, displays, etc. The kernel allocates requests from applications to perform I/O to an appropriate device (or subsection of a device, in the case of files on a disk or windows on a display) and provides convenient methods for using the device (typically abstracted to the point where the application does not need to know implementation details of the device).

TYPES OF KERNELS

1. Monolithic kernels

In a monolithic kernel, all OS services run along with the main kernel thread, thus also residing in the same memory area. This approach provides rich and powerful hardware access. The main disadvantages of monolithic kernels are the dependencies between system components a bug in a device driver might crash the entire system and the fact that large kernels can become very difficult to maintain. A monolithic kernel is one single program that contains all of the code necessary to perform every kernel related task. Every part which is to be accessed by most programs which cannot be put in a library is in

the kernel space: Device drivers, Scheduler, Memory handling, In the monolithic kernel, some advantages hinge on these points: Since there is less software involved it is faster. As it is one single piece of software it should be smaller both in source and compiled forms. Less code generally means fewer bugs which can translate to fewer security problems.

Most work in the monolithic kernel is done via system calls. These types of kernels consist of the core functions of the operating system and the device drivers with the ability to load modules at runtime.

2. Microkernels

Microkernel is the term describing an approach to Operating System design by which the functionality of the system is moved out of the traditional "kernel", into a set of "servers" that communicate through a "minimal" kernel, leaving as little as possible in "system space" and as much as possible in "user space". A microkernel that is designed for a specific platform or device is only ever going to have what it needs to operate. The microkernel approach consists of defining a simple abstraction over the hardware, with a set of primitives or system calls to implement minimal OS services such as memory management, multitasking, and inter-process communication. Other services, including those normally provided by the kernel, such as networking, are implemented in user-space programs, referred to as servers. Microkernels are easier to maintain than monolithic kernels, but the large number of system calls and context switches might slow down the system because they typically generate more overhead than plain function calls.

3. Hybrid kernels
Server resides inside the kernel. these types of kernel are extension of microkernel with some advantages of monolithic kernel. unlike monolithic kernel which can load modules at runtime on their on. Easy to implement..

SHELL The shell is the outermost layer of the operating system. Shells incorporate a programming language to control processes and files, as well as to start and control other programs. The shell manages the interaction between you and the operating system by prompting you for input, interpreting that input for the operating system, and then handling any resulting output from the operating system. Shells provide a way for you to communicate with the operating system. This communication is carried out either interactively (input from the keyboard is acted upon immediately) or as a shell script. A shell script is a sequence of shell and operating system commands that is stored in a file.