Operating
Systems
What is OS?
Operating System is a software, which makes a
computer to actually work.
It is the software the enables all the programs we use.
The OS organizes and controls the hardware.
OS acts as an interface between the application
programs and the machine hardware.
Examples: Windows, Linux, Unix and Mac OS, etc.,
What OS does?
An operating system performs basic
tasks such as,
controlling and allocating memory,
prioritizing system requests,
controlling input and output
devices,
facilitating networking and
managing file systems.
Structure of Operating System:
Application Programs
System Programs
Software (Operating System)
HARDWARE
(Contd…)
The structure of OS consists of 4
layers:
1. Hardware
Hardware consists of CPU,
Main memory, I/O Devices,
etc,
2. Software (Operating
System)
Software includes process
management routines,
memory management
routines, I/O control routines,
file management routines.
3. System programs
This layer consists of compilers,
Assemblers, linker etc.
4. Application programs
This is dependent on users need.
Ex. Railway reservation system,
Bank database management etc.,
Operating Systems
functions:
The main functions of operating systems
are:
1. Program creation
2. Program execution
3. Input/Output operations
4. Error detection
5. Resource allocation
6. Accounting
7. protection
Types of OS:
Operating System can also be classified
as,-
Single User Systems
Multi User Systems
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 and are multi-user
systems.
Example: Unix
