Operating System (OS)
Operating System

What is Operating System (OS)?

Operating system (OS) is an Integrated set of programs that control the resources of a computer system.OS provides its user with an interface or virtual machine that is more convenient to use then the bare machine.

Objectives of  an OS are:

  1. Making a computer system convenient to use.
  2. Managing the resources of a computer.
  3. Provide an environment in which a user can execute a programs.
  4. Allow user to use the computer hardware in an efficient manner.

    Types of operating System:

    Below is a basic list of the types of operating systems and a few examples of operating systems that fall into each of the types.

    1)Graphical User Interface- a GUI operating system contains graphics and icons and is commonly navigated by using a computer mouse. See the GUI definition for a complete definition. Examples of GUI operating systems are:

    System 7.x
    Windows 98
    Windows CE

    2)Multi-user – A multi-user operating system allows for multiple users to use the same computer at the same time and different times. See the multi-user definition for a complete definition. Examples of operating systems that would fall into this category are:

    Linux
    Unix
    Windows 2000

    3)Multiprocessing – An operating system capable of supporting and utilizing more than one computer processor. Examples of operating systems that would fall into this category are:

    Linux
    Unix
    Windows XP

    4)Multitasking – An operating system that is capable of allowing multiple software processes to run at the same time. Examples of operating systems that would fall into this category are:

    Linux
    Unix
    Windows 8

    5)Multithreading – Operating systems that allow different parts of a software program to run concurrently. Examples of operating systems that would fall into this category are:

    Linux
    Unix
    Windows XP

Standard