What is an operating system

What Is An Operating System?

When computers were first invented, every detail of how the hardware operated had to be programmed into the computer manually by setting switches or hand wiring circuits. This was a time consuming and tedious process that had to be repeated for each program executed. The programmer required detailed knowledge about how a particular computer system operated. The Central Processing Unit or CPU was inactive most of the time while these details were being programmed. Because hardware costs for the early computers were so high, users wanted to increase the efficiency of the CPU. To accomplish this, a program, called an operating system, was created.

An operating system is a set of programs that controls and supervises a computer system’s hardware and provides services to programmers and users of a computer system. Its purpose is to manage the hardware for the most efficient use of computer resources and to provide an interface between a user or an application program and the hardware. The operating system drastically increased the efficiency of the CPU, as it took the burden of programming every detail of an operation off the programmer.

The operating system resides in primary storage, so the details of an operation are received and executed by the computer at high speeds, thus eliminating the long delays that were once present when human had to intervene. An operating system can also execute another program immediately without human intervention.

There are several types of operating systems, including single-program operating systems, concurrent operating systems, time-sharing operating systems, multiprocessing operating systems, virtual-storage operating systems, real-time operating systems, and virtual-machine operating systems.

The most popular operating systems are those found on microcomputers. All or part of these operating systems usually reside on a disk and are referred as a disk operating system (DOS) and Windows. Several of the most common systems include:
MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating Systems)
Apple PRODOS
Apple Macintosh

Multitasking operating systems were designed for microcomputers, such as OS/2 designed by IBM and Microsoft.

Let’s take a look at the major operating systems

Microsoft Windows is a series of software operating systems produced by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced Windows in November 1985. The most recent client version of Windows is Windows 7. Microsoft Windows dominates the world’s personal computer market.

Mac OS is the trademarked name for a series of graphical user interface-based OS developed by Apple INC. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface.

Linux is a freely available multitasking and multi-user operating system. The system can be distributed, used an expanded free of charge. Presently, it is being used by several millions of users worldwide.

HAIKU is an operating system currently in development designed from the ground up for desktop computing. It aims to provide users of all levels with a personal computing experience, free of any unnecessary complexities.

BeOS is an operating system for personal computers. Today it is mainly used and developed by a small population of enthusiasts.

So, an operating system controls the basic operations of a computer. Without it, a computer would be useless.

A Computer Guy

What Is An Operating System?