TOP 50

Interview Question

Created by- Topper World

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Q 1. Explain the main purpose of an operating system?

Ans : An operating system acts as an intermediary between the user of a

computer and computer hardware.
The purpose of an operating system is to provide an environment in which a
user can execute programs conveniently and efficiently. An operating system
is a software that manages computer hardware.

The hardware must provide appropriate mechanisms to ensure the correct

operation of the computer system and to prevent user programs from
interfering with the proper operation of the system.

Q 2 . What is demand paging?

Ans : Demand paging can be described as a memory management technique

that is used in operating systems to improve memory usage and system
performance.

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Demand paging is a technique used in virtual memory systems where pages
enter main memory only when requested or needed by the CPU.

In demand paging, the operating system loads only the necessary pages of a
program into memory at runtime, instead of loading the entire program into
memory at the start.

Q 3 . What is a kernel?

Ans : A kernel is the central component of an operating system that manages

the operations of computers and hardware.
It basically manages operations of memory and CPU time.

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It is a core component of an operating system.
Kernel acts as a bridge between applications and data processing performed
at the hardware level using inter-process communication and system calls.

Q 4 . What are the different scheduling algorithms?

Ans :
1) First-Come, First-Served (FCFS) Scheduling.
2) Shortest-Job-Next (SJN) Scheduling.
3) Priority Scheduling.
4) Shortest Remaining Time.
5) Round Robin(RR) Scheduling.
6) Multiple-Level Queues Scheduling.

Q 5 . Describe the objective of multi-programming.

Ans : Multi-programming increases CPU utilization by organizing jobs (code

and data) so that the CPU always has one to execute.
The main objective of multi-programming is to keep multiple jobs in the main
memory.
If one job gets occupied with IO, the CPU can be assigned to other jobs.

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Q 6 . What is the time-sharing system?

Ans : Time-sharing is a logical extension of multiprogramming.

The CPU performs many tasks by switches that are so frequent that the user
can interact with each program while it is running.
A time-shared operating system allows multiple users to share computers
simultaneously.

Q 7. What problem we face in computer system without OS?

Ans :
➢ Poor resource management
➢ Lack of User Interface
➢ No File System
➢ No Networking
➢ Error handling is big issue etc.

Q 8 . Give some benefits of multithreaded programming?

Ans : A thread is also known as a lightweight process. The idea is to achieve

parallelism by dividing a process into multiple threads.

1) Responsiveness – Multithreading in an interactive application may

allow a program to continue running even if a part of it is blocked or is
performing a lengthy operation, thereby increasing responsiveness to the
user. In a non multi threaded environment, a server listens to the port for
some request and when the request comes, it processes the request and

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 then resume listening to another request. The time taken while processing
of request makes other users wait unnecessarily. Instead a better
approach would be to pass the request to a worker thread and continue
listening to port.

2) Resource Sharing – Processes may share resources only through

techniques such as-
⚫ Message Passing
⚫ Shared Memory
Such techniques must be explicitly organized by programmer. However,
threads share the memory and the resources of the process to which they
belong by default. The benefit of sharing code and data is that it allows an
application to have several threads of activity within same address space.

3) Economy – Allocating memory and resources for process creation is a

costly job in terms of time and space. Since, threads share memory with
the process it belongs, it is more economical to create and context switch
threads. Generally much more time is consumed in creating and managing
processes than in threads. In Solaris, for example, creating process is 30
times slower than creating threads and context switching is 5 times
slower.

4) Scalability – The benefits of multi-programming greatly increase in case

of multiprocessor architecture, where threads may be running parallel on
multiple processors. If there is only one thread then it is not possible to
divide the processes into smaller tasks that different processors can
perform. Single threaded process can run only on one processor
regardless of how many processors are available. Multi-threading on a
multiple CPU machine increases parallelism.

5) Better Communication System – To improve the inter-process

communication, thread synchronization functions can be used. Also, when
need to share huge amounts of data across multiple threads of execution
inside the same address space then provides extremely high bandwidth
and low communication across the various tasks within the application.

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6) Microprocessor Architecture Utilization – Every thread could be
execute in parallel on a distinct processor which might be considerably
amplified in a microprocessor architecture. Multithreading enhances
concurrency on a multi CPU machine. Also the CPU switches among
threads very quickly in a single processor architecture where it creates the
illusion of parallelism, but at a particular time only one thread can running.

Q 9 . Briefly explain FCFS.

Ans : FCFS stands for First Come First served. In the FCFS scheduling
algorithm, the job that arrived first in the ready queue is allocated to the CPU
and then the job that came second and so on.
FCFS is a non-preemptive scheduling algorithm as a process that holds the
CPU until it either terminates or performs I/O.
Thus, if a longer job has been assigned to the CPU then many shorter jobs after
it will have to wait.

Q 10 . What is the RR scheduling algorithm?

Ans : A round-robin scheduling algorithm is used to schedule the process

fairly for each job in a time slot or quantum and interrupting the job if it is not
completed by then the job comes after the other job which is arrived in the
quantum time makes these scheduling fairly.
◆ Round-robin is cyclic in nature, so starvation doesn’t occur
◆ Round-robin is a variant of first-come, first-served scheduling
◆ No priority or special importance is given to any process or task
◆ RR scheduling is also known as Time slicing scheduling

Q 11 . Enumerate the different RAID levels?

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Ans : A redundant array of independent disks is a set of several physical disk
drives that the operating system sees as a single logical unit. It played a
significant role in narrowing the gap between increasingly fast processors and
slow disk drives. RAID has different levels:
• Level-0
• Level-1
• Level-2
• Level-3
• Level-4
• Level-5
• Level-6

Q 12. What is Banker’s algorithm?

Ans : The banker ’ s algorithm is a resource allocation and deadlock

avoidance algorithm that tests for safety by simulating the allocation for the
predetermined maximum possible amounts of all resources, then makes an
“s-state” check to test for possible activities, before deciding whether
allocation should be allowed to continue.

Q 13 . State the main difference between logical and physical

address space?

Ans :

Parameter LOGICAL ADDRESS PHYSICAL ADDRESS

Basic generated by the CPU. location in a memory unit.

Address Logical Address Space is a Physical Address is a set of all

Space set of all logical addresses physical addresses mapped to

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 Parameter LOGICAL ADDRESS PHYSICAL ADDRESS

generated by the CPU in the corresponding logical

reference to a program. addresses.

Users can never view the

Users can view the logical
Visibility physical address of the
address of a program.
program.

Generation generated by the CPU. Computed by MMU.

The user can use the logical The user can indirectly access
Access address to access the physical addresses but not
physical address. directly.

Q 14 . How does dynamic loading aid in better memory space

utilization?

Ans : With dynamic loading, a routine is not loaded until it is called. This
method is especially useful when large amounts of code are needed in order
to handle infrequently occurring cases such as error routines.

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Q 15 . What are overlays?

Ans : The concept of overlays is that whenever a process is running it will not
use the complete program at the same time, it will use only some part of it.
Then overlay concept says that whatever part you required, you load it and
once the part is done, then you just unload it, which means just pull it back and
get the new part you required and run it.
Formally, “The process of transferring a block of program code or other data
into internal memory, replacing what is already stored”.

Q 16 . What is fragmentation?

Ans : Processes are stored and removed from memory, which makes free
memory space, which is too little to even consider utilizing by different
processes. Suppose, that process is not ready to dispense to memory blocks
since its little size and memory hinder consistently staying unused is called
fragmentation. This kind of issue occurs during a dynamic memory allotment
framework when free blocks are small, so it can’t satisfy any request.

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Q 17 . What is the basic function of paging?

Ans : Paging is a method or technique which is used for non-contiguous

memory allocation. It is a fixed-size partitioning theme (scheme). In paging,
both main memory and secondary memory are divided into equal fixed-size
partitions. The partitions of the secondary memory area unit and the main
memory area unit are known as pages and frames respectively.
Paging is a memory management method accustomed fetch processes from
the secondary memory into the main memory in the form of pages. in paging,
each process is split into parts wherever the size of every part is the same as
the page size. The size of the last half could also be but the page size. The
pages of the process area unit hold on within the frames of main memory
relying upon their accessibility.

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Q 18 . How does swapping result in better memory management?

Ans : Swapping is a simple memory/process management technique used by

the operating system(os) to increase the utilization of the processor by
moving some blocked processes from the main memory to the secondary
memory thus forming a queue of the temporarily suspended processes and
the execution continues with the newly arrived process.
During regular intervals that are set by the operating system, processes can
be copied from the main memory to a backing store and then copied back later.
Swapping allows more processes to be run that can fit into memory at one
time.

Q
19 . Write a name of classic synchronization problems?

Ans :
➢ Bounded-buffer
➢ Readers-writers
➢ Dining philosophers
➢ Sleeping barber

Q 20 . What is the Direct Access Method?

Ans : The direct Access method is based on a disk model of a file, such that it
is viewed as a numbered sequence of blocks or records. It allows arbitrary
blocks to be read or written.

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Direct access is advantageous when accessing large amounts of information.
Direct memory access (DMA) is a method that allows an input/output (I/O)
device to send or receive data directly to or from the main memory, bypassing
the CPU to speed up memory operations.

The process is managed by a chip known as a DMA controller (DMAC).

Q 21 . When does thrashing occur?

Ans : Thrashing occurs when processes on the system frequently access

pages, not available memory.

Q 22. What is the best page size when designing an operating

system?

Ans : The best paging size varies from system to system, so there is no single
best when it comes to page size.
There are different factors to consider in order to come up with a suitable page
size, such as page table, paging time, and its effect on the overall efficiency
of the operating system.

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Q 23 . What is multitasking?

Ans : Multitasking is a logical extension of a multiprogramming system that

supports multiple programs to run concurrently.
In multitasking, more than one task is executed at the same time. In this
technique, the multiple tasks, also known as processes, share common
processing resources such as a CPU.

Q 24 . What is caching?

Ans : The cache is a smaller and faster memory that stores copies of the data
from frequently used main memory locations.

There are various different independent caches in a CPU, which store

instructions and data. Cache memory is used to reduce the average time to
access data from the Main memory.

©Topperworld
Q 25 . What is spooling?

Ans : Spooling refers to simultaneous peripheral operations online, spooling

refers to putting jobs in a buffer, a special area in memory, or on a disk where
a device can access them when it is ready. Spooling is useful because devices
access data at different rates.

Q 26. What is the functionality of an Assembler?

Ans : The Assembler is used to translate the program written in Assembly

language into machine code. The source program is an input of an assembler
that contains assembly language instructions. The output generated by the
assembler is the object code or machine code understandable by the
computer.

Q 27 . What are interrupts?

Ans : The interrupts are a signal emitted by hardware or software when a

process or an event needs immediate attention.
It alerts the processor to a high-priority process requiring interruption of the
current working process.
In I/O devices one of the bus control lines is dedicated to this purpose and is
called the Interrupt Service Routine (ISR).

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Q 28 . What is GUI?

Ans : GUI is short for Graphical User Interface. It provides users with an
interface wherein actions can be performed by interacting with icons and
graphical symbols.

Q 29 . What is preemptive multitasking?

Ans : Preemptive multitasking is a type of multitasking that allows computer

programs to share operating systems (OS) and underlying hardware
resources.
It divides the overall operating and computing time between processes, and
the switching of resources between different processes occurs through
predefined criteria.

Q 30 . What is a pipe and when is it used?

Ans : A Pipe is a technique used for inter-process communication.

A pipe is a mechanism by which the output of one process is directed into the
input of another process.
Thus it provides a one-way flow of data between two related processes.

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Q 31 . What are the advantages of semaphores?

Ans :
➢ They are machine-independent.
➢ Easy to implement.
➢ Correctness is easy to determine.
➢ Can have many different critical sections with different semaphores.
➢ Semaphores acquire many resources simultaneously.
➢ No waste of resources due to busy waiting.

Q 32 . What is a bootstrap program in the OS?

Ans : Bootstrapping is the process of loading a set of instructions when a

computer is first turned on or booted. During the startup process, diagnostic
tests are performed, such as the power-on self-test (POST), which set or
checks configurations for devices and implements routine testing for the
connection of peripherals, hardware, and external memory devices.

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The bootloader or bootstrap program is then loaded to initialize the OS.

Q 33 . What is IPC?

Ans : Inter-process communication (IPC) is a mechanism that allows

processes to communicate with each other and synchronize their actions.
The communication between these processes can be seen as a method of
cooperation between them.

Q 34 . What are the different IPC mechanisms?

Ans : These are the methods in IPC:

◼ Pipes (Same Process): This allows a flow of data in one direction only.
Analogous to simplex systems (Keyboard). Data from the output is usually
buffered until the input process receives it which must have a common
origin.

◼ Named Pipes (Different Processes): This is a pipe with a specific name it

can be used in processes that don’t have a shared common process
origin. E.g. FIFO where the details written to a pipe are first named.

◼ Message Queuing: This allows messages to be passed between

processes using either a single queue or several message queues. This is

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 managed by the system kernel these messages are coordinated using an
API.

◼ Semaphores: This is used in solving problems associated with

synchronization and avoiding race conditions. These are integer values
that are greater than or equal to 0.

◼ Shared Memory: This allows the interchange of data through a defined

area of memory. Semaphore values have to be obtained before data can
get access to shared memory.

◼ Sockets: This method is mostly used to communicate over a network

between a client and a server. It allows for a standard connection which is
computer and OS independent

Q 35 . What is the difference between preemptive and non-

preemptive scheduling?

Ans :
⚫ In preemptive scheduling, the CPU is allocated to the processes for a
limited time whereas, in Non-preemptive scheduling, the CPU is allocated
to the process till it terminates or switches to waiting for the state.

⚫ The executing process in preemptive scheduling is interrupted in the

middle of execution when a higher priority one comes whereas, the
executing process in non-preemptive scheduling is not interrupted in the
middle of execution and waits till its execution.

⚫ In Preemptive Scheduling, there is the overhead of switching the process

from the ready state to the running state, vice-verse, and maintaining the
ready queue. Whereas the case of non-preemptive scheduling has no
overhead of switching the process from running state to ready state.

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⚫ In preemptive scheduling, if a high-priority process frequently arrives in
the ready queue then the process with low priority has to wait for a long,
and it may have to starve. On the other hand, in non-preemptive
scheduling, if CPU is allocated to the process having a larger burst time
then the processes with a small burst time may have to starve.

⚫ Preemptive scheduling attains flexibility by allowing the critical processes

to access the CPU as they arrive in the ready queue, no matter what
process is executing currently. Non-preemptive scheduling is called rigid
as even if a critical process enters the ready queue the process running
CPU is not disturbed.

⚫ Preemptive Scheduling has to maintain the integrity of shared data that’

s why it is cost associative which is not the case with Non-preemptive
Scheduling.

Q 36 . What is the zombie process?

Ans : A process that has finished the execution but still has an entry in the
process table to report to its parent process is known as a zombie process. A
child process always first becomes a zombie before being removed from the
process table. The parent process reads the exit status of the child process
which reaps off the child process entry from the process table.

Q 37 . What are orphan processes?

Ans : A process whose parent process no more exists i.e. either finished or
terminated without waiting for its child process to terminate is called an
orphan process.

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Q 38 . What are starvation and aging in OS?

Ans :
Starvation: Starvation is a resource management problem where a process
does not get the resources it needs for a long time because the resources are
being allocated to other processes.
Aging: Aging is a technique to avoid starvation in a scheduling system. It works
by adding an aging factor to the priority of each request. The aging factor
must increase the priority of the request as time passes and must ensure that
a request will eventually be the highest priority request.

Q 39. Write about monolithic kernel?

Ans : Apart from microkernel, Monolithic Kernel is another classification of

Kernel. Like microkernel, this one also manages system resources between
application and hardware, but user services and kernel services are
implemented under the same address space.
It increases the size of the kernel, thus increasing the size of an operating
system as well.

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This kernel provides CPU scheduling, memory management, file management,
and other operating system functions through system calls.
As both services are implemented under the same address space, this makes
operating system execution faster.

Q 40 . What is Context Switching?

Ans : Switching of CPU to another process means saving the state of the old
process and loading the saved state for the new process.
In Context Switching the process is stored in the Process Control Block to
serve the new process so that the old process can be resumed from the same
part it was left.

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Q 41 . What is the difference between the Operating system and
kernel?

Ans :

Operating System Kernel

The kernel is system software that is

Operating System is system
part of the Microkerneloperating
software.
system.

Operating System provides an

The kernel provides an interface b/w
interface b/w the user and the
the application and hardware.
hardware.

Its main purpose is memory

It also provides protection and management, disk management,
security. process management and task
management.

All system needs a real-time

operating real-time, and All operating system needs a kernel to
Microkernel system to run. run.

Type of operating system

includes single and multiuser OS, Type of kernel includes Monolithic and
multiprocessor OS, real-time OS, Microkernel.
Distributed OS.

It is the first program to load It is the first program to load when the
when the computer boots up. operating system loads

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Q 42 . What is the difference between process and thread?

Ans :

S.NO Process Thread

Process means any program is

Thread means a segment of a
1. in execution.
process.

The process is less efficient in

Thread is more efficient in terms of
2. terms of communication.
communication.

The process is isolated.

3. Threads share memory.

The process is called Thread is called lightweight

4.
heavyweight the process. process.

Process switching uses,

Thread switching does not require
another process interface in
5. to call an operating system and
operating system.
cause an interrupt to the kernel.

If one process is blocked then

The second, thread in the same task
it will not affect the execution
6. could not run, while one server
of other process
thread is blocked.

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S.NO Process Thread

The process has its own

Thread has Parents’ PCB, its own
Process Control Block, Stack
7. Thread Control Block and Stack and
and Address Space.
common Address space.

Q 43 . What is PCB?

Ans : The process control block (PCB) is a block that is used to track the
process’s execution status.
A process control block (PCB) contains information about the process, i.e.
registers, quantum, priority, etc.
The process table is an array of PCBs, that means logically contains a PCB for
all of the current processes in the system.

©Topperworld
Q 44 . When is a system in a safe state?

Ans : The set of dispatchable processes is in a safe state if there exists at least
one temporal order in which all processes can be run to completion without
resulting in a deadlock.

Q 45 . What is Cycle Stealing?

Ans : Cycle stealing is a method of accessing computer memory (RAM) or bus

without interfering with the CPU.
It is similar to direct memory access (DMA) for allowing I/O controllers to read
or write RAM without CPU intervention.

Q 46 . What are a Trap and Trapdoor?

Ans : A trap is a software interrupt, usually the result of an error condition,

and is also a non-maskable interrupt and has the highest priority.
Trapdoor is a secret undocumented entry point into a program used to grant
access without normal methods of access authentication.

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Q 47 . Write a difference between process and program?

Ans :

S.NO Program Process

Program contains a set of

instructions designed to Process is an instance of an
1.
complete a specific task. executing program.

Process is anThe process active

Program is a passive entity as it
entity as it is created during
resides in the secondary
2. execution and loaded into the
memory.
main memory.

The program exists in a single

Process exists for a limited span
place and continues to exist until
3. of time as it gets terminated after
it is deleted.
the completion of a task.

A program is a static entity.

4. The process is a dynamic entity.

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S.NO Program Process

Program does not have any

Process has a high resource
resource requirement, it only
requirement, it needs resources
5. requires memory space for
like CPU, memory address, and
storing the instructions.
I/O during its lifetime.

The program does not have any The process has its own control
6. control block. block called Process Control
Block.

Q 48 . What is a dispatcher?

Ans :
The dispatcher is the module that gives process control over the CPU after it
has been selected by the short-term scheduler. This function involves the
following:
➢ Switching context
➢ Switching to user mode
➢ Jumping to the proper location in the user program to restart that program

©Topperworld
Q 49 . Write a difference between a user-level thread and a kernel-
level thread?

Ans :

User-level thread Kernel level thread

User threads are implemented by

kernel threads are implemented by
users.
OS.

OS doesn’t recognize user-level

threads. Kernel threads are recognized by OS.

Implementation of User threads is Implementation of the perform

easy. kernel thread is complicated.

Context switch time is less. Context switch time is more.

Context switch requires no

hardware support. Hardware support is needed.

If one user-level thread performs a

If one kernel thread perform a the
blocking operation then entire
blocking operation then another
process will be blocked.
thread can continue execution.

User-level threads are designed as

Kernel level threads are designed as
dependent threads.
independent threads.

©Topperworld
Q 50 . Difference between Multithreading and Multitasking?

Ans :

S.No Multi-threading Multi-tasking

Multiple threads are executing

at the same time at the same or Several programs are executed
1.
different part of the program. concurrently.

CPU switches between multiple

CPU switches between multiple
2. threads.
tasks and processes.

It is the process of a
3. lightweight part. It is a heavyweight process.

It is a feature of the process.

4. It is a feature of the OS.

Multi-threading is sharing of Multitasking is sharing of

computing resources among computing resources(CPU,
5.
threads of a single process. memory, devices, etc.) among
processes.

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