Operating System

 Operating System

An operating system (OS) is a collection of software that manages computer hardware resources and provides common services for computer programs. The operating system is a vital component of the system software in a computer system. 

An Operating System (OS) is an interface between a computer user and computer hardware. An operating system is a software which performs all the basic tasks like file management, memory management, process management, handling input and output, and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers.

Some popular Operating Systems include Linux Operating System, Windows Operating System, VMS, OS/400, AIX, z/OS, etc.

Functions of Operating System

Following are some of important functions of an operating System.

  • Memory Management
  • Processor Management
  • Device Management
  • File Management
  • Security
  • Control over system performance
  • Job accounting
  • Error detecting aids
  • Coordination between other software and users

    Applications of Operating System

    Following are some of the important activities that an Operating System performs −

    • Security − By means of password and similar other techniques, it prevents unauthorized access to programs and data.

    • Control over system performance − Recording delays between request for a service and response from the system.

    • Job accounting − Keeping track of time and resources used by various jobs and users.

    • Error detecting aids − Production of dumps, traces, error messages, and other debugging and error detecting aids.

    • Coordination between other softwares and users − Coordination and assignment of compilers, interpreters, assemblers and other software to the various users of the computer systems.

      Types of Operating System (OS)

      Following are the popular types of OS (Operating System):

      • Batch Operating System
      • Multitasking/Time Sharing OS
      • Multiprocessing OS
      • Real Time OS
      • Distributed OS
      • Network OS
      • Mobile OS

      Batch Operating System

      Some computer processes are very lengthy and time-consuming. To speed the same process, a job with a similar type of needs are batched together and run as a group.

      The user of a batch operating system never directly interacts with the computer. In this type of OS, every user prepares his or her job on an offline device like a punch card and submit it to the computer operator.

      Multi-Tasking/Time-sharing Operating systems

      Time-sharing operating system enables people located at a different terminal(shell) to use a single computer system at the same time. The processor time (CPU) which is shared among multiple users is termed as time sharing.

      Real time OS

      A real time operating system time interval to process and respond to inputs is very small. Examples: Military Software Systems, Space Software Systems are the Real time OS example.

      Distributed Operating System

      Distributed systems use many processors located in different machines to provide very fast computation to its users.

      Network Operating System

      Network Operating System runs on a server. It provides the capability to serve to manage data, user, groups, security, application, and other networking functions.

      Mobile OS

      Mobile operating systems are those OS which is especially that are designed to power smartphones, tablets, and wearables devices.

      Some most famous mobile operating systems are Android and iOS, but others include BlackBerry, Web, and watchOS.





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