What processor facilities does an Operating Systems Kernel need in order to perform its functions?
1) An Operating System is a series of layers. Each layer is a set of functions which depend upon the layer beneath it (it is often portrayed as an onion). The very first innermost layer of an operating system is the System Nucleus (also known as the Operating System Kernel) and is only dependent upon the actual hardware of the computer. It is often the only part of an operating system that is coded in Assembly Language. For the kernel to operate, it is dependent on four processor facilities. These are: 1) An Interrupt Mechanism 2) Memory Protection 3) A Privileged Instruction Set 4) A Real-Time Clock I shall look at each facility in turn: 1) Interrupt Mechanism: As the processor(s) operate much faster than the peripherals it controls, it is able to switch to other tasks while waiting for the peripherals to complete their tasks. Foe example, a user is able to use the mouse while the printer is printing a document. This is because once the processor has given the printer it’s task it swi
