QUESTION BANK

(System programming)
(Short Answer type Questions )

1) Define System Programming?

2) Give System Programming hierarchy?
3) What are the various system programs that are commonly used in modern PC’s?
4) What are the components of a system software?
5) Differentiate between System Call and System Interrupt?
6) Is it possible to use natural languages (as English, Punjabi etc.) as computer
languages?
7) Differentiate between System, Embedded and Application software?
8) Differentiate between Pure procedures and Impure Procedures?
9) What is a subroutine .Differentiate between Open subroutines and Closed
subroutines.
10) Explain what is meant by concurrent process?
11) Distinguish between a pipe and output redirection?
12) Write short notes on Dynamic and static Memory allocation Schemes?
13) What is A Look Ahead Operator?
14) Describe briefly the General machine Structure?
15) What is an Assembler? What are the various steps used in the design of an
Assembler?
16) What feature of assembly language required to build a Two pass assembler?
17) What are the various databases that are used in designing an assembler?
18) Differentiate between USING and BALR? What happens to each of these at
assembly time and at execution time?
19) What is the difference between CR and CLR instructions?
20) Can you write an assembly language program without using USING instructions?
How? What are the limitations?
21) What is the significance of symbol table in designing an Assembler?
22) What do you mean by table processing?
23) Define the following terms in one or two sentences:-
a) Searching
b) Sorting
c) Hashing
24) What is the difference between searching and sorting?
25) What is a Macro?
26) What is a Loader? What are the various functions performed by a general loader?
27) What are the various types of loaders?
28) What are the disadvantages of ‘Compile and Go’ Loaders?
29) What are the advantages of DLL over Relocatable Loaders?
30) Describe different types of address constants defined in Direct Linking Loaders?
31) Differentiate between EXTERN and ENTRY?
32) What is a Transfer Vector table?
33) What is a Binder. What are various types of binders?
34) What is Module Loader?
35) Define: Dynamic Loading and Dynamic Linking?
36) What are the advantages and disadvantages of dynamic linking?
37) What are the various steps used in designing a Loader?
38) What are the various databases used in designing a Loader?
39) List the advantages and disadvantages of binding at load time over binding at
assembly time?
40) Give the example of each of the following types of address constants:
• Simple relocatable
• Absolute
• Complex relocatable
41) List the advantages and disadvantages of binding at execution time over binding
at load time?
42) Describe the function of each of RLD,ESD,TXT and END cards?
43) What is the order of RLD,ESD,TXT and END cards in an object deck and why
are they in this order?
44) What is the purpose of the ID number on ESD cards? Why is it not needed for
locally defined symbols?
45) Why is it necessary to relocate a program in memory?
46) What is a compiler? What are the various phases in the design of a compiler?
47) What do you mean lexical analysis?
48) What is a token in lexical analysis?
49) Differentiate between a pass and phase?
50) Differentiate between token and a Uniform Symbol? How the size of uniform
symbol is effected by the size of the token?
51) Differentiate between syntax analysis and semantic analysis?
52) What is reduction?
53) List two advantages of generating an intermediate form in a compiler design?
54) What is intermediate form for DCL and PROC statements?
55) What are the various optimization techniques used in compiler design?
56) What is storage class and describe briefly the various types of storage classes
used?
57) What are the various compiler writing tools?
58) What is an operating system and list the various types of storage classes used?
59) What is the difference between syntax and semantics error?
60) What do you mean by multiuser and single user Operating System?
61) Differntiate between single pass and multi pass compiler?
62) What do you mean by CPU Scheduling?
63) What is fragmentation?
64) What is Paging?
65) What is Compaction in Fragmentation?
66) Explain how the files are stored in UNIX system using i-nodes?
67) Explain i-node structure and significance of different fields?
68) Differentiate between Simple Paging and Demand Paging?
69) What do you mean by Software tools?
70) What is an Editor and what are the various functions performed by an Editor?
71) What are various types of Editors ?
72) What is a Debugger?
73) How debugger helps in the development process of a program?
74) Differentiate between Text editor and Line editor?
75) Name the OS which is a multitasking?
76) What is transition diagram?
77) What is Page Map Table?
78) What are various compiler tools.
79) What is difference between System calls and Library routines.
80) What is Bootstrapping?
81) Explain the use of Bootstrapping in Compiler design.
82) What is Deadlock.
83) What is Symbol Table?
84) What is physical and Logical address?
85) What is loading of program?
86) What are the different types schedulers?

(Long Answer Type Questions)

1) Give the detail design of Compiler?

2) Draw the block diagram of the phases of a compiler & indicate the main function
of each Phase?
3) What are the advantages and disadvantages to perform the assembly of the
compiled program in the compiler rather than using the standard system
assembler?
4) Explain the designing of the machine dependent phases of the Compiler.
5) Explain the designing of the machine independent phases of the Compiler.
6) Explain the database structure of the Compiler?
7) What are the techniques to attain optimization in the Compiler Designing?
8) Give the general Model of the Compiler?
9) What are the techniques used for the machine independent optimization?
10) Explain the differences in the Machine dependent, machine independent, post
generation optimization with example.
11) Explain the various permanent and temporary tables used in the designing of
Compiler.
12) Write note on the following:-
a) Lexical Phase
b) Syntax & interpretation phase
c) Storage
d) Code generation
13) If the expression A=B*C+D*E in input to the compiler , what would be the
functions performed by each and every phase.
14) If expression B=A & A=C*D*(D*C+B) is input to code generation phase, what
would be the output . Explain with flowcharts.
15) Write a note on UNIX operating system.
16) Write a note on the following :-
a) UNIX O.S
b) LINUX O.S
c) WINDOWS NT
17) Explain the differences in the various O.S known to you.
18) What are System calls & When they are used?
19) Write short notes on :-
a) Influence of memory allocation policy on job scheduling
b) Memory protection overheads in swapping
20) What are the various types of O.S? Explain the salient features of each of them
by taking suitable examples from the present day O.S.
21) What is a Transition diagram? Draw a transition diagram to identify the
keywords IF, THEN, ELSE, DO-WHILE, BEGIN, END, ENDIF.
22) Write a note on following :-
a) Multiprogramming
b) Multitasking
c) Input Output programming
23) Explain the function performed by the Operating system in detail.
24) Write a note on paging. How this is attained in memory.
25) What are various types of scheduling. Write in detail .
26) Write a note ion various types of Editors. Explain various generations of Editors.
27) What are differences in the :-
a) Line Editors
b) Stream Editors
c) Screen Editors
d) Structure Editors
e) Word processors
28) Explain the designing of Debuggers.
29) Explain the designing of Editors .
30) What are various software tools in development of any software. Explain each
tool Phase-wise.
31) What is Debugger. Why they are used and how the Breakpoints are attained in
debuggers.
32) What are various facilities given by Debugger. Also explain Debugger functions.
33) Consider the following set of processes with the length CPU Burst time given in
millisec.

Process Burst Time Priority

P1 10 3
P2 1 1
P3 2 3
P4 1 4
P5 5 2

The processes are assumed to have arrived in order P1,P2,P3,P4,P5 all at time 0.

a) Illustrate the execution of these processes using FCFS,SJF, a non

preemptive priority and Round Robin(Quantum=1 ) scheduling
b) What is the Turn around time of each process for each process for
each of the scheduling Algorithm.
34) Explain the sequence of Hardware operations performed with instruction
interpreter for multiplication instruction.
35) At what point of time do the absolute loader scheme perform binding;
a) BSS loader
b) Direct Linking loading
c) Dynamic binder
d) Linking Editor
e) Overlay
f) Absolute Loader
36) What is difference between Phase and Pass. Give example of language which
uses more than one pass for compiling the program.
37) Explain Flow chart of Pass-II of two pass assembler.
38) What are various functions of loader? During what stage of loading each of them
is performed in different schemes of loader.
39) Explain System Programming with examples of various system program in detail.
40) Write down designing on the first Pass of assembler.
41) Write down designing on the Second Pass of assembler.
42) Describe Database structures of Assembler.
43) Write down in detail the designing of the Assembler.
44) Write a program that will ADD the number 49 to the contents of ten adjacent full
Words in memory using machine language and Assembly language.
45) What features of assembly language required to build a Two Pass Assembler.
46) Explain the Algorithm of Two Pass assembler.
47) How modularity is attained in Assembler.
48) How table processing is attained in Assembler Design.
49) Explain the structure of MOT, ST, POT, LIT, BT and where they are used.
Explain with example.
50) Develop Complete program specifications for Passes of Two Pass Assembler
indicating:-
a) Tables for internal use of Passes
b) Table to be shared between passes.
c) Inputs for every Pass
d) Outputs of every Pass.
51) What are various loader schemes. Explain in Detail.
52) Differentiate between Compile-and-Go, Absolute, Relocating and DLL Loaders.
Which one is better and how?
53) Give the designing of absolute loader and DLL with example.
54) What are various drawbacks of earlier generations of loader which are removed
by DLL and how?
55) Where the ESD, TXT, RLD, END cards are used. Explain with examples.
56) What are various databases used in design of DLL.
57) How you specify various data Structures used in DLL.
58) Explain the format of ESD, TXT, RLD, END, LESA, GEST cards in detail.
59) Write note on Binders, Dynamic Linking, Dynamic Loading.
60) What are various sections of Object Deck of Loader, What are the corresponding
card formats. Explain.
61) What are the various functions of loaders? During what stage of loading each of
them is performed in different schemes of Loader.