Contents:
- Introduction
- Type(Based on User Interface)
- Function of OS
Introduction:
An Operating System(OS) is a type of system software.An OS can be considered to be a resource manager which manages all the resources of a computer, i.e., its hardware including CPU, RAM, Disk, Network and other input-output devices. It also controls various application software and device drivers, manages system security and handles access by different users. It is the most important system software. Examples of popular OS are Windows, Linux, Android, Macintosh and so on.
The primary objectives of an operating system are two-fold. The first is to provide services for building and running application programs.
The second objective of an operating system is to provide an interface to the user through which the user can interact with the computer.
Type:
Based on the interface provided by the oprating system, OS can be classified into following types:
- Command-based Interface:
Command-based interface requires a user to enter the commands to perform different tasks like creating, opening, editing or deleting a file, etc. Example: mkdir movies
Examples of operating systems with command-based interface include MS-DOS and Unix. - Graphical User Interface:
Graphical User Interface (GUI) lets users run programs or give instructions to the computer in the form of icons, menus and other visual options. Examples of operating systems with GUI include Microsoft Windows, Ubuntu, Fedora and Macintosh etc.
- Touch-based Interface:
These OS provides Touch based interface for the user to provide instruction to the conmputer like opening and app etc. Example of these type of OS are Andriod, iOS etc.
- Voice-based Interface:
For users who cannot use the input devices like the mouse, keyboard, and touchscreens, modern operating systems provide other means of human-computer interaction. Users today can use voice-based commands to make a computer work in the desired way. Usually these features are added as an addon to the existing OS for example siri, google home etc.
Function of OS:
The important function of OS are listed below:
- Process Management:
A task in execution is known as process. It is the responsibility of operating system to manage these processes and get multiple tasks completed in minimum time. As CPU is the main resource of computer system, its allocation among processes is the most important service of the operating system. Hence process management concerns the management of multiple processes, allocation of required resources, and exchange of information among processes.
- Memory Management:
Primary or main memory of a computer system is usually limited. The main task of memory management is to give (allocate) and take (free) memory from running processes. Since there are multiple processes running at a time, there arises a need to dynamically (on-the-go) allocate and free memory to the processes. This job is done by the OS
- File Management:
Data and programs are stored as files in the secondary storage of a computer system. File management involves the creation, updation, deletion and protection of these files in the secondary memory. Protection is a crucial function of an operating system, as multiple users can access and use a computer system. File management system manages secondary memory, while memory management system handles the main memory of a computer system.
- Device Management:
A computer system has many I/O devices and hardware connected to it. Operating system manages these heterogeneous devices that are interdependent. The operating system interacts with the device driver and the related software for a particular device.Just like files, devices also need security measures and their access to different devices must be restricted by the operating system to the authorised users, software and other hardware only.