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Operating System Concepts

Operating system concepts

Process Management & Threading

  • Process vs Thread

    • Processes: Independent execution units with isolated memory space
    • Threads: Lightweight units sharing process memory space
    • Impact on concurrent programming and application architecture

  • Scheduling

    • How OS schedules processes/threads
    • Priority levels and their programmatic control
    • Real-time scheduling considerations
    • Impact on application performance

Memory Management

  • Virtual Memory

    • Address space layout
    • Page tables and translation
    • Impact on large-scale applications
    • Memory-mapped files and their uses

  • Memory Allocation

    • Stack vs Heap allocation
    • Memory fragmentation
    • Memory leaks and debugging
    • Garbage collection mechanisms

I/O & Storage

  • File Systems

    • File descriptors and handles
    • Buffering and caching
    • Asynchronous I/O operations
    • Memory-mapped I/O

  • Storage Hierarchy

    • Cache levels and their impact
    • SSD vs HDD considerations
    • RAID configurations
    • Impact on database design

Inter-Process Communication (IPC)

  • IPC Mechanisms

    • Pipes and named pipes
    • Shared memory
    • Message queues
    • Sockets and network programming

  • Synchronization

    • Mutexes and semaphores
    • Condition variables
    • Deadlock prevention
    • Race conditions and their mitigation

System Calls & API

  • System Call Interface

    • Key system calls for programmers
    • Error handling patterns
    • Performance implications
    • Security considerations

  • OS-Specific APIs

    • POSIX compliance
    • Windows API (Win32)
    • Platform-specific optimizations

Security & Permissions

  • Process Isolation

    • Privilege levels
    • Sandboxing
    • Container technologies
    • Security boundaries

  • Access Control

    • File permissions
    • Capability-based security
    • SELinux and AppArmor
    • Secure coding practices

Performance Optimization

  • Resource Management

    • CPU affinity
    • Memory pressure handling
    • I/O scheduling
    • Performance profiling tools

  • System Tuning

    • Kernel parameters
    • Process/thread limits
    • Network stack optimization
    • File system tuning

Modern OS Concepts

  • Containerization

    • Container runtimes
    • Resource isolation
    • Network namespaces
    • Storage drivers

  • Virtualization

    • Hypervisors
    • Hardware acceleration
    • Virtual device drivers
    • Cloud computing implications