Windows 98 IO Structure Analysis Tutorial (Computer Textbooks for Higher Education)

Author: Guo Songshan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: This book is the textbook for the "Analysis of Operating System Structure" course written by Professor Guo Songshan from the Department of Computer Science, School of Information Science and Technology at Sun Yat-sen University. The textbook features a system software analysis method centered around data structures, with a main program as the core, for an in-depth analysis of the Windows 98 device driver module (IO.SYS). This approach not only helps readers fully understand the process of an operating system implementing I/O but also teaches them how to use assembly language to perform software analysis. This book can be used as a textbook or reference for computer-related majors in higher education institutions, as well as a training manual for on-the-job training and technical reference materials for PC development engineers. Windows is a widely known personal computer operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS). While its operation and use are very simple, the scale of its OS is enormous, and its structure is also very complex. How to conduct an in-depth analysis and research on the structure of an OS is a crucial aspect of learning and understanding how an OS implements resource management, especially how the OS handles basic I/O management. It also holds significant importance for understanding the overall operation of the OS, related communication and interfaces, as well as computer security and virus prevention. By conducting an in-depth analysis of the structure of the Windows OS I/O, we learn how the OS is designed and implemented, which will greatly benefit computer application developers.
How to analyze an operating system, after summarizing years of experience in analyzing and researching OS and system software, the author believes that adopting a system software analysis method centered around data structures with a main program as the core is an effective approach. Emphasizing the main program as the core allows readers to quickly and effortlessly grasp the overall structure of the module, followed by a step-by-step analysis of the structure of each branch module. Emphasizing data structures is crucial because, after determining the algorithm, the key to designing a system program lies in its data structure. When analyzing an OS, a common challenge is failing to fully understand data structures such as tables (linear lists, linked lists), buffers (temporary storage areas), static and dynamic stacks, and not grasping the meaning and values of data units used by each module. This significantly reduces the speed of analyzing and reading system program listings and may even make the analysis work impossible to proceed.
This book takes Windows 98 as the primary analysis object, conducting a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of its device driver module (IO.SYS). Additionally, it analyzes the interrupt handling programs related to I/O devices in ROM-BIOS to help readers fully understand the process of the OS implementing I/O. To facilitate readers' learning, analysis, and research, the last one to two sections of Chapters 2 to 4 list detailed commentaries for the corresponding programs. This book aims to present the internal structure and implementation principles of the operating system, which many find challenging, in an accessible and systematic manner, allowing readers to grasp the overall concept while gradually delving deeper layer by layer. To help readers understand the source code listings by combining principles, we provide detailed annotations for the program listings, striving to explain every instruction in depth. For important program segments, we also include execution flowcharts in the main text. Additionally, each chapter concludes with exercises and thought questions to further aid readers in better understanding and mastering the material.