Major Project Theme
Operating system
What is an operating system
An operating system (OS) is a piece of software that serves as a user interface for computer hardware. To run other programs every computer system needs at least one operating system. Applications such as browsers, Microsoft Office, Notepad games, etc. require an environment in order to execute and carry out their functions.
Without knowing computer language, the OS enables you to communicate with the computer. Without an OS, a user is unable to operate any computer or mobile device. Lawrence, (2022)
The operating system's job
Your computer's operating system (OS) manages all of the software and hardware on the computer. Most of the time, there are several different computer programs running at the same time, and they all need to access your computer's central processing unit (CPU), memory, and storage. The operating system coordinates all of this to make sure each program gets what it needs.
Types of operating systems
Operating systems usually come pre-loaded on any computer you buy. Most people use the operating system that comes with their computer, but it's possible to upgrade or even change operating systems. The three most common operating systems for personal computers are Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Modern operating systems use a graphical user interface, or GUI (pronounced gooey). A GUI lets you use your mouse to click icons, buttons, and menus, and everything is clearly displayed on the screen using a combination of graphics and text.
Each operating system's GUI has a different look and feel, so if you switch to a different operating system it may seem unfamiliar at first. However, modern operating systems are designed to be easy to use, and most of the basic principles are the same.
An operating system is to share a computer installation among many programs making unpredictable demands upon its resources.
Aim: An operating system serves as a link between hardware and software, and its main function is to manage all of the resources used by connected hardware and software. Because operating systems build the link between users and hardware, all computer systems would be powerless without them. Because computer systems are unable to directly understand our requests, when a user gives a computer a command, the operating system converts that command into binary form, such as 0 and 1. Only machine language is understandable by computers. (2022)
Reference
Computer basics: Understanding operating systems (2022) GCFGlobal.org. Available at: https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/computerbasics/understanding-operating-systems/1/ (Accessed: October 26, 2022).
Communications oi the ACM 17, 10 (October 1974), 549-557
Lawrence Williams Ethical Hacker and Cybersecurity Evangelist (October 15, 2022), https://www.guru99.com/operating-system-tutorial.html. Accessed October 2022
Stephen J. Bigelow, June 2021) https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/operating-system-OS Accessed in oct 2022 (whatls.com)
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