Our operating system simulation project was a major success. The simulator works flawlessly with effective multi-user messaging and process messaging enhancements. In addition, the group worked effectively, efficiently, and with great enthusiasm. Furthermore, we learned a great deal about multi-user OS design, execution models, programming interfaces (API), and the advantages and difficulties of multithreading. Specifically, our simulator was designed to wrap a virtual machine program and supply an interface with which it can use to communicate with the host Operations System. This simplified interface goes a long way in moving this design to be OO compliant and greatly enhances the ability to create modules in a safe and effective manner.
In retrospect, we agree that we were able to complete nearly every feature we set out to design. However, we felt that our implementation of inter-process communication, while functional, did not provide a good model of how processes would communicate in a real world model. Specifically, our model did not incorporate a method for processes to locate and attach a message pipe to a type of process without user interaction. This sort of design may have been outside time limitations imposed upon us, but would have been interesting nevertheless. One other area where we could have seen improvement would have been by implementing a more robust design document, which would detail the design much more thoroughly.
An additional area of interest is GUI design for operating systems, which was not in our design document for obvious reasons. This area is important because, in addition to OS library protection, GUI’s are the area where the most work will be done in the next decade. Specifically, future Operating Systems will move away from the complex interface designed for power users. They will begin to mimic simple human communication and incorporate the ability to recognize things such as speech and handwriting, as well as other types of simpler tactile interfaces. Furthermore, as mainstream computer users become more accustomed to computer use, OS’s will have to allow a larger degree of GUI customization. Computer scientists are currently working on these enhancements approaching them from many directions. Soon we will see new versions of popular OS’s, Windows XP, Mac OS X, and Linux, which will incorporate a large number of enhancements to allow a greater level of interaction between man and machine.
In conclusion, we feel, that at completion time, our system has taught us a great deal of things concerning operating systems, thus fulfilling its intended function.