Operating Systems Final Project

A menu-driven modular system in C built to demonstrate core operating system concepts through implementation and simulation.

Overview

This project was developed for CSCI 3431 as a practical exploration of operating systems concepts. The system is organized into separate executable modules and launched through a central main menu using process creation and execution system calls.

Features

The project includes the following modules:

1. Logging System

A centralized logger that records user input and system actions with timestamps.
Implemented using inter-process communication techniques such as shared memory, pipes, or fork() / exec().

2. Peterson’s Solution

A simulation of Peterson’s mutual exclusion algorithm for two processes.
Demonstrates busy waiting, entry section, critical section, and exit section behavior.

3. File Management

Supports basic file operations:

• Create files
• Read files
• List files
• Delete files

4. Contiguous Memory Allocation + Compaction

Simulates contiguous memory management using first-fit allocation.
Supports:

• User-defined initial memory holes
• Allocation
• Deallocation
• Memory map display for allocated and free blocks

5. Amdahl’s Law

Calculates theoretical speedup based on:

• Parallel fraction
• Number of cores

Also includes a comparison between serial and parallel execution.

6. Boot Script + Main Menu

A boot.sh script handles compilation and launch.
The main menu is implemented using:

• fork()
• exec()
• wait()

Project Structure

.  
├── src/            # All C source files  
├── bin/            # Compiled executables  
├── logs/           # Log output  
├── boot.sh         # Build and run script  
└── README.md

Build and Run

Make the boot script executable and run it:

chmod +x boot.sh
./boot.sh

What boot.sh Does

• Removes old build and log folders
• Recreates required directories
• Compiles the logger first
• Compiles each module into /bin
• Prints compilation success/failure messages
• Launches the main menu

Requirements

• Written in C only
• Modular design
• Each module compiled as a separate executable
• Logging included
• Input validation handled where required