An operating system is a system software that manage computer hardware
resources and provide common service for application programs. The OS act like
an interface. The computer interpret the instruction given by the user with the
help of an operating system. It is the master program, which makes your system
alive and helps to run different appilications.
The operating
system is classified into GUI (Graphical user interface) and CUI (
Charater User Interface ), based on manner it interacts with the user.
Graphical User Interface-
GUI Operating
system is graphics based on interactive in nature. You can use several devices,
such as mouse, keyboard, etc. to interact with the system. Nowadays Windows is
the most popular GUI OS.
Character User Interface-
CUI operating
system requires you to type commands in order to interact with the system. Some
popular CUI OS is UNIX, DOS.
Features and Functions of Operating
system-
1-
Processor
Management- It is one
of the most important functions of an operating system. The OS ensures that
each process/application receives enough time by the processor to function
properly.
2-
Memory
Management- An operating system manages the sharing of internal
memory among the multiple applications. An OS has to make efficient utilization
of different types of memory ( RAM, Cache, etc. ) within the system to ensure
proper execution of every process.
3-
File management-
A computer uses a lot of data, which is stored on the secondary storage
devices. The OS keeps track of information regarding creation, deletion,
transfer, copy and storage of file in an organized manner.
4-
Device
Management- An OS plays a very important role in coordinating and
controlling various I/O (Input/Output) devices. It receives requests from these
devices, perform a specific task and communities back to the requesting
process.
5-
Security
Management- The inbuilt security modules of any operating system protect
the resources and the information stored on a computer system against
unauthorized access.
6-
Provision of
interface- An OS provides a systematic user interface, which
facilities and structures the interaction between the user and computer.
Types of Operating System-
1-
Single User OS- Single User OS is the initial version
of the operating system. These OS can support only user at a time. The most
popular single user OS were MS DOS, Windows 3.1 Windows 95. Due to their
limited features, they are no longer in use nowadays.
2-
Multi User
OS- Multi User OS
allows more than one user to use the same computer at the same time or at
different time. The popular Multi user OS are windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows
XP, Windows vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux, UNIX,
Macintosh. Windows 2000 was the first version of windows, which allowed
creation of several users accounts on a single computer.
3-
Multi Tasking
OS- the ability to perform more than one task together at one time,
using only one CPU is called Multi-tasking. It switches from one program to
another so quickly that it gives the appearance of executing all programs at
the same time. The popular Multi Tasking OS are Windows XP, Windows Vista,
Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, etc.
4-
Multi- Threading OS-