Operating system organization
Operating systems: principles and functions

Although there is no standard structure that applies to every system, the following main components are generally identified:

• core functions include processor allocation, interrupt handling and clock management, process management and I/O supervision, all of which are handled by drivers, specialized software for each class of I/O or communication device;

• memory manager is responsible for managing virtual memory (address space specific to a user) and allocating physical memory;

• the file management system manages the designation and storage of information in files; it calls on the memory manager and the drivers of the secondary...