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(CLASSIFICATION OF OPERATING SYSTEMS (MULTITASKING : Allows more than one…
WHAT IS AN OPERATING SYSTEM
The operating system (OS) is the most important program that runs on a computer. Every general-purpose computer must have an operating system to run other programs and applications
Computer operating systems perform basic tasks, such as recognizing input from the keyboard, sending output to the display screen, keeping track of files and directories on the storage drives, and controlling peripheral devices, such as printers.
For large systems, the operating system has even greater responsibilities and powers. It is like a traffic cop — it makes sure that different programs and users running at the same time do not interfere with each other. The operating system is also responsible for security, ensuring that unauthorized users do not access the system.
A SOFTWARE PLATFORM FOR APPLICATIONS
Operating systems provide a software platform on top of which other programs, called application programs, can run. The application programs must be written to run on top of a particular operating system
Your choice of operating system, therefore, determines to a great extent the applications you can run. For PCs, the most popular operating systems are DOS, OS/2, and Windows, but others are available, such as Linux.
CLASSIFICATION OF OPERATING SYSTEMS
MULTITASKING
: Allows more than one program to run concurrently.
MULTITHREADING
: Allows different parts of a single program to run concurrently
MULTIPROCESSING
: Supports running a program on more than one CPU
REAL TIME
: Responds to input instantly. General-purpose operating systems, such as DOS and UNIX, are not real-time.
MULTI USER
: Allows two or more users to run programs at the same time. Some operating systems permit hundreds or even thousands of concurrent users.
USER INTERACTION WITH THE OS
For example, the DOS operating system contains commands such as COPY and RENAME for copying files and changing the names of files, respectively
The commands are accepted and executed by a part of the operating system called the command processor or command line interpreter
As a user, you normally interact with the operating system through a set of commands
Graphical user interfaces allow you to enter commands by pointing and clicking at objects that appear on the screen
MOST POPULAR DESKTOP OPERATING SYSTEMS
The three most popular types of operating systems for personal and business computing include Linux, Windows and Mac
LINUX
Linux is a freely distributed open source operating system that runs on a number of hardware platforms. The Linux kernel was developed mainly by Linus Torvalds and it is based on Unix
WINDOWS
Microsoft Windows is a family of operating systems for personal and business computers. Windows dominates the personal computer world, offering a graphical user interface (GUI), virtual memory management, multitasking, and support for many peripheral devices.
MAC
Mac OS is the official name of the Apple Macintosh operating system. Mac OS features a graphical user interface (GUI) that utilizes windows, icons, and all applications that run on a Macintosh computer have a similar user interface.
