Do you want to learn what is operating system and functions of operating system then this article is perfect for you.
Hi, I am Satyajit, a computer graduate from Manipal University, who started carrier as a dedicated writer with a sole intention to make the world better & innovative by sharing valuable information to people on computer and technology who desire to obtain more knowledge.
Today we are using computer in our everyday life. So, it is very essential for everyone to have the basic knowledge of computer, how computer works and basic function of computer software, which ultimately makes your life very easy and faster than others.
Operating System is alone a big topic of computer science and it is impossible to discuss whole thing in a single article.
But don’t worry, if you read this article thoroughly, you will get a good stock of knowledge about operating system and its functions.
I don’t concentrate on any particular operating system, I will discussed fundamental concepts of operating system that are applicable to a variety of operating systems.
Ok, let’s get started.
Computer system is broadly divided into two functional entities 1) Hardware and 2) Software.
Hardware is basically physical components and parts interconnected each other to run any computer.
Software is consists of the instructions or set of program which helps computer to perform various tasks.
In this article, I will only focus and discuss about the Computer Software.
Computer software further broadly divided into two types 1) Application Software and 2) System Software.
What is Operating System?
Operating System is a System Software which provides an environment to help the user to execute the programs. Operating System is a program that acts as interface between the user and the computer hardware.
The operation system acts as a manager of the resources like processors, main memory, input/ output devices and information on secondary storage devices and allocate them to specific programs and users as necessary.
An operating system standing between our programs and the hardware components of computer system. The operating system interacts with the hardware hiding it from the application program.
Evolution of Operating System
- Batch Operating System
- Multi programming Operating System
- Time sharing Operating System
- Real Time Operating System
- Distributed Operating System
- Multi processor Operating System
- Embedded Operating System
- Network Operating System
How many operating systems are there ?
As we are seen that technology has been grow rapidly over the period of time, scientists, engineers and programmers were making different devices i.e. desktop, laptop, tablet, android mobile & iPhone to meet the requirement of people. We need different software and operating systems to run all these devices.
Most popular operating systems are:
- Microsoft Windows Operating System
- Linux Operating System
- Apple Mac Operating System
- Google’s Android Operating System
- Apple iPhones Operating System
Components of Operating System
Operating system is not a single program, it is a set of programs. However, the real core of an operating system is called kernel. The second important program of an operating system is User Interface Program.
In earlier days operating systems used to have only Command Line User Interface (CLU) Program called shell.
All modern operating systems are coming with Graphical User Interface(GUI) called windows.
Functions of Operating System
Operating systems provides many functions for ensuring the efficient operation of the system itself. Some important functions perform by Operating system are:
- Processor Management
- Memory Management
- Input and Output management
- File system Management
- Establishment and enforcement of a priority system
- Error detection
- Coordination between other software and users
History of windows Operating Systems
History of computer windows operating system starts from MS-DOS to today’s latest version i.e. Windows 10. The time line and brief history of windows operating system are:
- 1981: MS-DOS
- 1985- Windows 1.0
- 1987: Windows 2
- 1990: Windows 3
- 1993: Windows NT
- 1995: Windows 95
- 1998: Windows 98
- 2000: Windows 2000
- 2000: Windows ME
- 2001: Windows XP
- 2007: Windows Vista
- 2009: Windows 7
- 2012: Windows 8
- 2013: Windows 8.1
- 2015: Windows 10
Thanks for reading this article.
If you have any question about the topic, please let me inform through contact us page or comment section. I will be answered your question, as soon as possible.
Looking to know more about computer science. I have stock of articles on computer science, computer security, programming web designing. Link of these articles are given below:
- Why Study Computer Science in 2021
- What are the subjects cover in Computer Science
- What are the benefits of learning computer programming
- What is Computer Crime & Types of Computer Crimes
- What is Artificial Intelligence & How AI will help us in future
- How to make money with Web Designing
- How to make money with software development
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