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The Concept of an Operating System
The Concept of an Operating System
In the early days of computers, the concept of an operating system wasn’t really thought of. When users needed to input information into the computer, they fed it into the system on punched pieces of paper. The computer would go to work on the information until it finished, or more often than not, it crashed.
Then, some savvy programmers decided that it would be a good idea to make computers easier to use and the concept of the operating system was born. A small corporation on the West Coast called Microsoft set to work at making computers more user-friendly for the general public. They had a vision that would put computers in everyone’s home and business.
MS-DOS was the operating system developed by Microsoft. However, it wasn’t as user-friendly as they had hoped. It required users to know certain commands to navigate the system and for them to manually enter in those commands. The programmers weren’t done there, however.
After MS-DOS was developed, another company, Apple, decided to work on their own concept of an operating system. They wanted the system to truly be user-friendly and developed the graphical user interface. It was not only easier for everyday people to use, but it was visually appealing as well. Mac OS was born.
Not to be outdone, Microsoft took the technology Apple had developed and used it as a model for their newest operating system dubbed Windows. However, Windows was much more advanced than Mac OS and was much easier to use. It took the computer world by storm and quickly became the most popular operating system among individuals and businesses alike.
Over the years, both Apple and Microsoft took the concept of the operating system to new levels as each would come up with multiple improvements to their existing systems. Their operating systems would be the basis for other programmers to develop their own software and there have been several others that have come about as a result of these advancements.
While not initially thought of as a required component of a computer system, the operating system has become an integral part of bringing computer technology to the mainstream public. Once the concept of the operating system was born, programmers began to realize that this development would make owning and using a computer a reality for even the everyday Joe.
Just like any other new concept, the operating system has become an integral part of our computer usage. Without the operating system, we would still be in the days of punched paper programming. What a terrific advancement!
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Definition of Operating System
Definition of Operating System
While an operating system is a central part of your computer system, knowing the definition of an operating system is not integral to knowing how to use one. However, when you do know the definition of an operating system, you can better understand what it is doing inside your computer to make it run and to make using it easier for you.
In its basic form, the definition of an operating system is as follows: a set of computer programs that manage the hardware and software resources of a computer system. We can add to that definition to say that an operating system rationally processes electronic devices in response to approved commands.
At the foundation of all system software, an operating system performs basic tasks such as controlling and allocating memory, prioritizing system requests, controlling input and output devices, facilitating networking, and managing file systems.
Most operating systems have a command line interpreter as a basic user interface, but they may also provide a graphical user interface (GUI) for ease of operation. The operating system forms a platform for other system software and for application software.
At a more involved level, the definition of an operating system gets a little more involved when you explore what the operating system does inside of your computer. Here are some of the most common tasks:
* Process Management – Every program running on a computer is a process. In general, a CPU can only run one process at a time. The operating system will monitor requested processes and execute them in a pre-designed order often switching between them very quickly in a way called multi-tasking.
* Memory Management – The operating system’s memory manager coordinates the various types of memory use by tracking which one is available at any given time. It will also monitor which type of memory can be allocated or de-allocated and how to move data between the memories.
* Disk and File Systems – The way an operating system reads different kinds of file system as well as file storage likes in the way the files are named. Some operating systems read file names as case sensitive, while others disregard this.
* Security – All operating systems come with some type of security already built in. Because access to a computer and its often privileged information should be restricted to only authorized users, this aspect of an operating system might actually be its most important function.
* Networking – In the Internet age, networking capabilities of operating systems are very important. Networking capabilities can be either with an outside computer as in accessing the Internet or computer to computer as in a large mainframe operation. The operating system will coordinate all of this below the surface without the user even being aware it is happening.
The definition of an operating system can be simple or it can be more involved. Either way, knowing how your operating system is running your computer can be a very important part of being a responsible computer user.
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