Introduction to System Calls in Operating
Systems
January 20, 2025
1 Introduction
In an operating system, system calls provide an interface between a process
and the operating system kernel. These calls are used to perform tasks that
are critical for the execution of processes, such as file handling, process control,
memory management, and inter-process communication.
2 Types of System Calls
System calls can be classified into the following categories:
2.1 Process Control System Calls
These system calls are used to control processes, including creation, termination,
and synchronization. Some common process control system calls are:
• fork() - Creates a new process by duplicating the calling process.
• exec() - Replaces the current process with a new process.
• exit() - Terminates the calling process.
• wait() - Suspends the execution of the calling process until a child process
exits.
2.2 File Management System Calls
File management system calls allow a process to interact with the file system.
These include:
• open() - Opens a file.
• read() - Reads data from a file.
• write() - Writes data to a file.
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• close() - Closes a file.
• unlink() - Deletes a file.
2.3 Memory Management System Calls
Memory management system calls handle the allocation and deallocation of
memory. These include:
• malloc() - Allocates a block of memory.
• free() - Frees the allocated memory.
• brk() - Sets the end of the data segment for a process.
2.4 Device Management System Calls
These system calls are used to interact with devices like printers, disks, and
terminals. Common device management system calls are:
• ioctl() - Controls device-specific operations.
• read() - Reads data from a device.
• write() - Writes data to a device.
2.5 Information Management System Calls
Information management system calls provide system-related information. These
include:
• getpid() - Returns the process ID of the calling process.
• gettimeofday() - Returns the current time.
• uname() - Returns system information.
2.6 Communication System Calls
Communication system calls enable communication between processes. Some
examples are:
• pipe() - Creates a unidirectional data channel.
• msgget() - Creates a message queue.
• semget() - Creates a semaphore set.
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3 Lab Exercises
Exercise 1: Process Creation and Termination
1. Write a C program that creates a child process using fork() and prints
the process ID of both parent and child processes.
2. Implement the exit() system call to terminate the child process and
display an appropriate message.
Exercise 2: File Handling
1. Write a program to create a file using open(), write some text into the
file using write(), and then close the file using close().
2. Implement file reading functionality using read() and display the content
of the file.
Exercise 3: Memory Management
1. Implement a program that allocates a block of memory using malloc()
and initializes the memory with values. Then, free the memory using
free().
2. Use brk() to increase or decrease the data segment size.
4 Conclusion
System calls are crucial for the execution of processes and facilitate interaction
between user-level programs and the kernel. Understanding these calls is es-
sential for developing low-level applications and interacting with the operating
system.
