An Operating System or OS is a software program that enables the computer hardware to communicate and operate with the computer software. Without a computer operating system, a computer and software programs would be useless. The picture is an example of Microsoft Windows XP, a popular operating system and what the box may look like if you were to visit a local retail store to purchase it.
When computers were first introduced, the user interacted with them using a command line interface, which required commands. Today, almost every computer is using a Graphical User Interface (GUI) operating system that is much easier to use and operate.
Examples of OS
Microsoft Windows 10 – PC and IBM compatible operating system. Microsoft Windows is the most common and used operating system.
Apple macOS – Apple Mac operating system. Today, the only Apple computer operating system is macOS.
Ubuntu Linux – A popular variant of Linux used with PC and IBM compatible computers.
Google Android – Operating system used with Android compatible phones and tablets.
iOS – Operating system used with the Apple iPhone and iPads.
Chromium – Google operating system used with Chromebooks.
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Operating system
Operating system is a platform between hardware and user which is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the resources of a computer. It hosts the several applications that run on a computer and handles the operations of computer hardware.
Functions of operating System:
- Processor Management
- Memory Management
- File Management
- Device Management
Types of Operating System:
- Real-time Operating System: It is a multitasking operating system that aims at executing real-time applications. Example of Use: e.g. control of nuclear power plants, oil refining, chemical processing and traffic control systems, air
- Single User Systems: Provides a platform for only one user at a time. They are popularly associated with Desk Top operating system which run on standalone systems where no user accounts are required. Example: DOS.
- Multi User Systems:Provides regulated access for a number of users by maintaining a database of known users.Refers to computer systems that support two or more simultaneous users. Another term for multi-user is time sharing. Ex: All mainframes are multi-user systems. Example: Unix
- Multi-tasking and Single-tasking Operating Systems: When a single program is allowed to run at a time, the system is grouped under the single-tasking system category, while in case the operating system allows for execution of multiple tasks at a time, it is classified as a multi-tasking operating system.
- Distributed Operating System: An operating system that manages a group of independent computers and makes them appear to be a single computer is known as a distributed operating system. Distributed computations are carried out on more than one machine. When computers in a group work in cooperation, they make a distributed system.
Commonly used operating system
UNIX: Pronounced yoo-niks, a popular multi-user, multitasking operating system developed at Bell Labs in the early 1970s. UNIX was one of the first operating systems to be written in a high-level programming language, namely C. This meant that it could be installed on virtually any computer for which a C compiler existed.
LINUX: Pronounced lee-nucks or lih-nucks. A freely-distributable 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. Because it’s free, and because it runs on many platforms, including PCs and Macintoshes, Linux has become an extremely popular alternative to proprietary operating systems.
Windows: Microsoft Windows is a series of graphical interface operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces (GUIs).
SOLARIS: Solaris is a Unix operating system originally developed by Sun Microsystems. It superseded their earlier SunOS in 1993. Oracle Solaris, as it is now known, has been owned by Oracle Corporation since Oracle’s acquisition of Sun in January 2010.
BOSS: BOSS (Bharat Operating System Solutions) GNU/Linux distribution developed by C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) derived from Debian for enhancing the use of Free/ Open Source Software throughout India. This release aims more at the security part and comes with an easy to use application to harden your Desktop.
Mobile OS: A mobile operating system, also called a mobile OS, is an operating system that is specifically designed to run on mobile devices such as mobile phones, smartphones, PDAs, tablet computers and other handheld devices. The mobile operating system is the software platform on top of which other programs, called application programs, can run on mobile devices.
- Android: Android is a Linux-based mobile phone operating system developed by Google. Android is unique because Google is actively developing the platform but giving it away for free to hardware manufacturers and phone carriers who want to use Android on their devices.
- Symbian: Symbian is a mobile operating system (OS) targeted at mobile phones that offers a high-level of integration with communication and personal information management (PIM) functionality.
- IOS – Apple OS, Iphone / mac
