Presentation on

UNIX & its Salient

Features
Prepared by:
Deepak Parashar
Manager (Elex)
Ludhiana Airport
Introduction to UNIX
(Topics to be covered):

 What is UNIX OS(Operating System)?

 Features of UNIX OS

 UNIX OS Architecture & System Organization

What is UNIX?
a) Unix is a multiuser OS and by default it was only a
Command user interface (CUI) OS i.e in the
early days, user had to work only in CUI, but
Graphic user interface(GUI) mode has also
been incorporated in due course of time.

b) It is able to work on all types of computers such as

mini/ micro/ super computers/ mainframe
computers and what not ?

So UNIX is a CUI +GUI Operating System

 ORIGINATORS OF UNIX
OPEARTING SYSTEM

SOFTWARE

MULTIPLE PROGRAMS

PROGRAMMING
LANGUAGE

“(UNIX) has been written by using “C” Language, and as we know

the father of “C” Language is D.Ritchie. Hence, Dennis Ritchie and
his team are known as the originators of UNIX.’’
Different Versions of UNIX /LINUX OS

Versions mean different kind of companies having/releasing same kind

of operating system.

(Vendors/Company) Name(For UNIX)

BSD(Berkeley Software Distribution UNIX
SCO(Santacruz Operation) UNIX(SCO Open server Release 5,
used in ECIL AMSS Server) &
SCO UNIX Ware 7)
IBM UNIX
HP UX
SUN MICROSYSTEM SOLARIS
Features of UNIX OS
1. Multi-User Capability

Multi user capability is a capability of UNIX OS where ,the same

computer resources such as Memory/ RAM/ Hard
Disk/application programs etc are accessible to multiple users.
 Features of UNIX OS
2. Multi tasking Capability
 Sharing - allows more than one user to share the same computer
system at the same time.
 Time-slicing - the computer processor at regular intervals between the
various users.
 Switching - between user programs is done by part of the kernel

Switching requires:

• a regular timed interrupt event

• saving the interrupted programs state and data
• restoring the next programs state and data
• running that program till the next timed interrupt occurs
Features of UNIX OS
3. Communication

UNIX has excellent provision for communicating

within network. The communication may be within the
network of a single main computer or between two or
more such computers networks. The user can exchange
mail, data & programmes through such networks.
Features of UNIX OS
4. Security
Security wise UNIX is the ultimate OS, it has every inch of
security level protection. Of course the first step is provided
by assigning Passwords and Log in names, to individual users
ensuring no free access to the system this is like
Aunthetication. At the file level , there are Read, write &
execute permissions to each file which decide who can
access a particular file , who can modify & who can
execute It . One may reserve read & write permission and
leave others on the network free to execute it or any such
combinations, this is like Authorisation. Unix also employs
the concept of file Encryption .This utility encodes the file
into an unreadable format ,so even if some one succeeds in
opening it, the secrets are still safe.
Features of UNIX OS

5. Portability
 UNIX can be ported i.e. we can run the Software to any, almost all
computer system with only the basic bare minimum computer
architecture requirement. Also it is mission independent, means
system hiding mission architecture from the end user.
Features of UNIX OS
 UNIX can be ported i.e we can run the Software to any, almost all
computer system with only the basic bare minimum computer
architecture requirement. Also it is mission independent, means
system hiding mission architecture from the end user. Portability is
the one of the main features that made UNIX so popular among the
users, but portability doesn’t mean that it is smaller in file size and
can be carried out on pen drive, CDs and memory cards.

 Portability means that UNIX OS and its application can work on

different types of hardwares in the same way. UNIX kernel and
application programs support their installation even on very least
hardware configuration.
Shell Script
Shell Scripts - To automate many routine tasks, a system
administrator will create a file that contains
the commands to be executed. This is known
as a shell script file.

Shell scripts:
• contain command sequences
• have execute permission
• simplify repetitious command sequences
• are run by the shell as if it has been typed at the terminal
 The Directory Structure

All the files are grouped together in the directory structure.

The file-system is arranged in a hierarchical structure, like an inverted tree.
The top of the hierarchy is traditionally called root (written as a slash /).
 UNIX System Organization:
• UNIX falls under the category of the Layered Architecture OS,
consists of following layers:
 Layers of OS:
1. Hardware layer – Hardware is a physical component of the
system & consists of all peripheral devices (RAM/ HDD/
CPU/Monitor etc.).

2. Kernel
 schedules programs
 manages data/file access and storage
 enforces security mechanisms
 performs all hardware access

3. Shell –
 presents each user with a prompt
 interprets commands types by a user
 executes user commands
 supports a custom environment for each user
Layers of OS

4. Application Software – Utility programs giving user most of the

functionality of an operating system.

5. Users – System users, who interacts directly with the system and
application softwares.
 Processes
 Each program running on a UNIX system is called a
process.
 When a user types a command, UNIX constructs a Process
Control Block (PCB) for the process that process.
 Each process has a PCB that holds its priority, the process
state, register information and additional details.

UNIX provides a set of utilities for managing processes

 ps list processes
 kill kill a process
& run a process in the background
Processes
PRIORITY LEVEL
Each program is assigned a priority level. Higher priority tasks (like
reading and writing to the disk) are performed more regularly. User
programs may have their priority adjusted dynamically, upwards or
downwards, depending upon their activity and available system
resources.

 FOREGROUND AND BACKGROUND

TASKS
• Foreground task - one that the user interacts directly with
using the keyboard and screen.
• Background task - one that runs in the background (it does not
have access to the screen or keyboard)
THANK
YOU!!