Operating System for GATE Exam

Here's the complete tutorial on Operating Systems for GATE CSE Exam. This tutorial will break down the syllabus topics into easy-to-understand sections.

If you have less time to study topic-wise in detail, you may refer to Operating System Previous Year Questions [Topic wise].

1. Basics of OS

• Introduction to Operating System
• Types of OS
• Functions of OS
• Introduction to System Call

2. Process Management

• Introduction of Process Management
• Process Control Block (PCB)
• IPC (Inter-Process Communication)

4. Concurrency and Synchronization

• Concurrency
• Synchronization
• Race Condition Vulnerability
• Critical Section
• Mutual Exclusion in Synchronization

5. Deadlock

• Introduction to Deadlock
• Conditions for Deadlock
• Deadlock Prevention and Avoidance
• Deadlock Detection and Recovery

6. CPU Scheduling

• First Come First Serve (FCFS)
• Shortest Job First (SJF)
• Shortest Remaining Time First (SRTF-Preemptive SJF)
• Longest Job First (LJF)
• Longest Remaining Time First (LRTF-Preemptive LJF)
• Round Robin
• Priority Scheduling
• Multilevel Queue (MLQ) CPU Scheduling
• Multilevel Feedback Queue Scheduling (MLFQ) CPU Scheduling

7. Memory Management and Virtual Memory

• Memory Management:
  
  • Paging
  • Multilevel Paging
  • Inverted Paging
  • Segmentation
• Virtual Memory:
  
  • Page Replacement Algorithms ( FIFO, LRU, Optimal)

8. File Systems

• Introduction to File Systems
• File Allocation Methods (Contiguous, Linked, Indexed)
• Disk Scheduling Algorithms :
  • SSTF
  • SCAN
  • C-SCAN
  • LOOK
  • C-LOOK

Official Syllabus of Operating System for GATE Exam

Here's the complete syllabus of Operating System, as per the GATE CSE 2025 official notification:

• System calls
• Processes
• Threads
• Inter‐process communication
• Concurrency and synchronization
• Deadlock
• CPU and I/O scheduling
• Memory management and virtual memory
• File systems

GATE CS/IT Subject-Wise Weightage

The subject-wise weightage for GATE CSE exam, based on the previous year patterns, is listed below:

Tips For Candidates While Preparing for Operating System in GATE Exams

• Understand the Basics: Start with simple topics like processes, threads, and how they communicate (IPC).
• Practice Numerical Problems: Spend time solving problems on CPU scheduling and page replacement. These often involve calculations and are common in exams.
• Review Previous Year Questions: Look at past year GATE questions to understand the type of problems asked and focus on topics that appear frequently.
• Use Diagrams and Tables: Visual tools like graphs and memory layouts make complex topics easier to understand and remember.
• Revise Regularly: Create short, easy-to-read notes for quick revisions. This helps retain key points and saves time during final preparation.