Prepared by: Pst.

Dahiru Aliyu

LANGUAGES, OPERATING SYSTEM &

SOFTWARE PACKAGES
Introduction
 A computer can only do what a programmer asks it to do.

 To perform a particular task programmer writes a sequence, called the program.

 An instruction command given to the computer to perform a certain specified operation

on the given data.

 Now as we know only human languages and computer knows only machine language,

we need some media through which we can communicate with the computer.

 So we can complete our desired task. That media is Language.

 Languages are tools human can use to communicate with the hardware of a computer

system.

 Each language has a systematic method of using symbols of that language.

 In English, this method is given by the rules of grammar.

 Similarly, the symbols of particular one computer language must also be used as per set

of rules which are known as the “Syntax” of that language, the language which you are

using.

 Computer Languages can be classified into three broad categories:

LANGUAGES

MACHINE
LANGUAGES ASSEMBLY HIGH – LEVEL
LANGUAGES LANGUAGES
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1. WHAT IS MACHINE LANGUAGE?

 Computer programs are written using many different computer Languages but the

language which is understood by the computer without translating program is called

machine language.

 Machine language is normally written as string of binary 1s and 0s.

 A machine language instruction has two-part format.

OPCODE OPARAND
OPERATION CODE OPERATION ADDRESS

 The 1st part is the operation code which tells the computer what function to be

performed.

 The 2nd part is the operand which tells the computer where to find & store data to be

manipulated.

 So each instruction tells the computer what operation to perform & the length & location

of the data field which are involved in the operation.

ADVANTAGES

 Programs can be executed immediately upon completion because it doesn’t require any

translation.

 Now extra storage space is needed.

 Programmer has complete control over the performance of the hardware.

DISADVANTAGE

 Tedious to program

 Difficult to program

 Difficult to modify

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 Time consuming to code

 Error prone

 Operation codes have to be memorized

 Assignment of memory is done by programmer

 Time consuming for development

 Programs development are machine dependent

 Preparation of programs was slow and costly.

2. EXPLAIN ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE.

 Assembly language is a language which allows instruction & storage location to be

represented by letters & symbols, instead of number.

 A program written in an assembly language is called assembly language program or

symbolic program.

 Assembly language was introduced in 1952.

 Machine language was tedious to code and errors were expected to arise in bulk.

 To solve these problems mnemonic codes and symbolic addresses were developed.

 It allows using alphanumeric mnemonic codes instead of numeric code for the

instructions in instruction set. For example, using ADD instead of 1110 or 14 to add.

 The storage locations are to be represented in the form of alphanumeric addresses instead

of numeric address.

 Format of assembly language is similar to machine language:

MNEMONIC CODE SYMBOLIC ADDRESS

Example of Assembly language instruction:

 This instruction adds value of NUM1 to the AX (Accumulator Register).

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 The symbolic language made program writing so much easier for the Programmers but it

must be translated into machine code before being used for operation.

 The translation is actually done by a special translating program.

Assembler

 Assembler is a special program (translator) which translates symbolic operation codes

into machine codes, and symbolic address is addressed into an actual machine address.

ADVANTAGE

 Easier to use, code and understand.

 Easier to correct error.

 Easier to modify.

 No worry about addresses.

 Easily relocatable.

 Efficiency of machine language.

 Can use Macros (Macro is a bunch of instruction referred as a single name)

DISADVANTAGE

 Machine depended.

 Programs have to be translated before execution.

 Translation of programs takes up time.

 Knowledge of hardware is required.

 Additional storage area needed for the source programs and object code.

Examples of Assembly Language

 Microsoft Assembly Language (MASM), Turbo Assembler

3. WRITE A NOTE ON HIGH LEVEL LANGUAGE.

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 The machine language & assembly language requires a good knowledge of internal

structure of computer.

 The both languages are machine dependent & it is difficult to solve error.

 To remove this limitation, the high level language is introduced.

 The high level languages machine independent so it can be easily ported & executed on

any computer.

 The high level language programs do not require any knowledge of internal structure of

computer so the programmer concentrate on the logic of problem rather than internal

structure of computer. It enables the programmer to write instructions using English

words & familiar mathematical symbols & expression so the program makes easier to

code & understand.

 It requires a translator program to convert high level program into machine language.

Compiler

 Compiler is a special program (translator) which translates high level programs into

machine codes.

ADVANTAGES:

 Machine independent.

 Easier to learn, use and understand.

 Easier to correct error.

 Easier to maintain.

 Less time & efforts.

 Easily relocatable.

 Program preparation cost is low.

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 Few errors.

DISADVANTAGES:

 Less flexible.

 Lower efficiency.

 Require more time & storage space.

4. SHORT NOTE: ASSEMBLER

 A computer can directly execute only machine language programs so the assembly

language program must be converted into its equivalent machine language program

before can be executed.

 This translation is done with the help of a translator program which is known as

assembler.

 Assembler is a special program (translator) which translates symbolic operation codes

into machine codes, and symbolic address is addressed into an actual machine address.

ASSEMBLY Input Output MACHINE

LANGUAGE ASSEMBLER LANGUAGE
PROGRAM PROGRAM

(Source Program) ONE TO ONE CORRESPONDENCE (Object Program)

 As shown in figure that the input to assembler is the assembly language program (source

program) and the output is the machine language program (object program).

 Assembler translates each assembly language instruction into equivalent machine

language instruction.

 There is one to one correspondence between the assembly language instructions of source

program & the machine language instruction of its equivalent object program.

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 In case of assembly language program the computer not only has to run the program but

also must first run assembler program to translate the original assembly language

program into machine language program.

 So the computer has to spend more time in getting desired answer.

5. WRITE A NOTE ON COMPILER

 A computer can directly execute only machine language programs.

 So the high level language program must be converted into its equivalent machine

language program before can be executed.

 This translation is done with the help of a translator program which is known as compiler.

 A compiler is a translator program which translates a high level language program into

equivalent machine language program.

 The process of translating is shown in below figure:

High level Language Input Output Machine Language

Program COMPILER Program

(Source Program) ONE TO MANY CORRESPONDENCE (Object Program)

 As shown in figure that the input to compiler is the high level language program (source

program) and the output is the machine language program (object program).

 High level language instructions are macro instructions.

 The compiler translates each high level language instruction into set of machine language

instructions rather than a single machine language instruction.

 There is one to many correspondence between high level language instructions of source

program into equivalent object program.

 During the translation the source program is only translates not executed.

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 A compiler can translates only those source programs which have written in the language

for which compiler is designed.

 A compiler can also detect & indicates the syntax errors during the compilation process

but cannot able to detect logical errors.

5. WRITE A NOTE ON INTERPRETER.

 An interpreter is another type of translator which is used for translating program

written using high level languages.

 It takes one statement of high level language, translates into machine language &

immediately executes the resulting machine language instructions.

 The main difference between compiler & interpreter is that compiler can translate the

entire code but not involve in execution.

High level Language Input INTERPRETER (Translate Output Result of Program

Program & Executes statement by Execution
statement)

 As shown in figure that the input to an interpreter is a source program & the output is

the result of an execution program.

 Interpreter translates & executes a high level language program statement-by statement.

 A program statement is reinterpreted every time it is encountered during program

execution.

 The main advantage of interpreter is that interpreter makes it easier & faster to correct

programs.

 The main disadvantage is that interpreter is slower than compilers when running

a finished program.

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WHAT IS OPERATING SYSTEM?

 An operating system is a software program that provides an interface between user & the

computer and manages thousands of applications.

 It’s a collection of system software that co-ordinates between the hardware, provides a

platform for software to run on.

 An operating system is an integrated set of programs that the resources (the CPU,

memory, I/O devices etc) of computer system & provides an interface to the user to run

the machine.

 The main two primary objective of operating system are:

o Making a computer system convenient to use

o Managing the resources of a computer system

FUNCTION OF OPERATING SYSTEM

1) PROCESS MANAGEMENT

 The process management of OS taking care about the creation & deletion of user &

system process, providing mechanism for process synchronization & process

communication.

2) MEMORY MANAGEMENT

 The memory management of OS taking care about the allocation & deallocation of

memory space to the various programs in need of this resource.

3) FILE MANAGEMENT

 The file management of OS is taking care about the file related activities such as

creation, storing, retrieving, naming, sharing & organization of files.

4) SECURITY

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 The security model of OS protects the resources & information of a computer system

against destruction & unauthorized access.

5) COMMAND INTERPRETATION

 This model taking care of interpreting user commands & directing the system resources

to handle the requests.

WHAT IS BATCH OPERATING SYSTEM?

o In Batch operating system, data is collected over a period of time and the processing of

the data is deferred to a later time.

o This approach was used very commonly in the past when punch cards served as data

storage media and is used as input into the computer system for processing.

o In batch processing, the data have first to be captured, normally as a form of source

documents, like time cards, or alternatively, by RJE (Remote Job Entry) where data is

gathered through remote terminals.

o The data will then be transmitted to the computer or the source document will be

physically transported to the data centre where transcription (conversion of source

document data into machine readable form) is performed.

o The data is processed by the computer and the resulting output is given to the users.

o Batch processing is suitable in application where there are large amounts of data and

when the turnaround times are not critical.

o As data are transcribed into machine readable form before submitting for processing, the

speed of processing is therefore determined by the computer and not by the operator.

o Payroll processing is suitable for batch processing as it is only performed on a regular

basis. (for example every month)

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o ADVANTAGES:
o  Less complicated.
o  After input process is over, while processing is going on, user can attend other
o jobs.
o DISADVANTAGES:
o  Long turnaround time.
o  Access to one is not possible.
o  Difficult to provide priority scheduling.
o  Not convenient for program development.
o 9. EXPLAIN REALTIME OPERATIN SYSTEM.
o  Real-Time systems are always on-line but on-line systems need not be real-time
o systems.
o  However, further constraints are placed in terms of response time and
o availability of the system.
o  By definition, a real time system receive data and process it quickly enough to
o produce output which can be used to control or affect the outcome of an
o ongoing activity of process.
o  In general, real-time systems handle small volumes of data at any one time and
o the turnaround time is critical.
o  Feedback is essential in real-time systems so that processing can keep pace with
o external factors.
o  Most real-time systems are used in mission critical application like process
o control and therefore, reliability and availability is of paramount importance.
o  Missile guidance systems are examples of real-time systems.
o  Control signals are sent to the fins of the missile to correct any deviations.
o Advantages
o  Error messages are immediate
o  Source documents are available at the time the error occurs.
o  Faster than on-line systems.
o Disadvantages
o  Direct access devices have to be used.
o  Elaborate controls and backup procedures to guard against unwarranted access
o to the system.
o  Control checks are difficult since updating occurs at the time of processing.

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