What is an Operating System?

Operating system image

This is an introduction to Operating System thinks you will know at the end of this post are:

  •  Definition of Operating System 
  •  Operating System Diagram
  •  Types of Operating System
  •  The goal of Operating System
  •  The function of the Operating System 

Some of the popular Operating Systems includes Linux, Windows, Ubuntu, macOS X. These are some of the common Operating System 

Definition of Operating System (OS)

It is a program that manages the computer hardware and provides a basis for application programs also acts as an intermediary between computer hardware and user. 

Diagram of Operating System (OS)

Basic structure or basic components of a computer system.

operating system diagram
 

Computer Hardware:- It is the lowermost level and it consists of resources like CPU (Central Processing Unit), Memory, and I/O devices (Input/output devices).

Operating System:- It is an intermediary that acts between the computer hardware and the user.

System Software:- This is the software that can be directly used to give some command to the computer hardware.

Application Software:- This is the program that is used to perform a specific task that can be directly used by the user.  

Example: Word Processor (MS Word), Spreadsheets ( MS Excel), Compilers (Turbo C++), Text Editors (Notepad), Web Browser (Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari), etc.

Type of OS 

Following are the popular types of Operating systems:

  • Batch OS
  • Time-Sharing 
  • Distributed OS
  • Network OS
  • Real-Time OS
  • Multi Programming/ Multi-Processing/ Tasking OS

Goal of OS

It consists of two major goals which are as follows:

  • Convenience
  • Efficiency

 Function of OS

Below are the main functions of the Operating System:

  • It provides an interface between computer hardware and the user.
  • Resources allocation
  • Take care of both memory and security.