At the very least, we need two separate modes of operation: user mode and kernel mode (also called supervisor mode, system mode,orprivileged mode). A bit, called the mode bit, is added to the hardware of the computer to indicate the current mode: kernel (0) or user (1). With the mode bit, we can distinguish between a task that is executed on behalf of the operating system and one that is executed on behalf of the user. When the computer system is executing on behalf of a user application, the system is in user mode. However, when a user application requests a service from the operating system (via a system call), the system must transition from user to kernel mode to fulfill the request.