Operating System Study - Questions & Answers for Shumin

While I was discussing with Shumin, I found there are few things I don't really sure, so I wrote them down and try to find out the answers here. Since these are part of the discussion, they may be not that formal and precise.

Difference between Emulation & Virtualization

Virtualiztion: 模擬出整套系統真實的環境（包含模擬硬體），ex. VirtualBox。

• Pros: 被模擬的環境比較真實，容易安裝或測試想跑的程式。
• Cons: 消耗原本系統較大的資源（就像是你Mac會卡住）。

Emulation: 在原本系統中複製類似的環境，ex. WINE（可以讓你在linux/mac上面裝Windows程式的，很有名）。

• Pros: 比較便宜、不耗成本的做法。
• Cons: 不好用，被模擬的程式看到的環境比較差，容易壞、不易當測試環境。

What is "System Call"

1. 先知道有個東西叫作API，是系統提供使用者的控制系統的方法，printf, read, write, open..都是。
2. “The system-call interface intercepts function calls in the API and invokes the necessary system calls within the operating system.”
3. “The intended system returns the status of the system call and any return values.”

Heron: 簡單來說就是system提供一些函式讓user可以call，之後怎麼handle就交給system(OS)去處理。

What is "static"

課本裡說”Thread-Local Storage”(TLS)類似於static，而不同處在於TLS在不同thread中是unique的。
而static: "a static variable is a variable that has been allocated statically—whose lifetime or "extent" extends across the entire run of the program” (from Wikipedia) 表示static變數不是一般會動態分配的變數(heap memory)也不是函式呼叫時候的變數(call stack)。
而在C/C++語言中(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Static_(keyword)) ，static變數表示：Lifetime為整份program執行期間、只能被內部(如同一class裡面)看見的變數。