Operating system

An operating system (OS) is software, consisting of programs and data that runs on computers manages computer hardware resources, and provides common services for the execution of various application software.

Main Functions of an Operating System

The main functions provided by most operating systems of today are as follows: 1. Process Management. A process is a program in execution. During execution, a process needs certain resources such as CPU time, memory space, files, and I/O devices. At a particular instance of time, a computer "system normally consists of a collection of processes. The process management module of an operating system takes care of the creation and deletion of processes, scheduling of various system resources to the different processes requesting them, and providing mechanisms for synchronization and communication among processes. 2. Memory Management. To execute a program, it must be loaded, together with the data it accesses, in the main memory (at least partially). To improve CPU utilization and to provide better responses time to its users, a computer system normally keeps several programs in main memory. The memory management module of an operating system takes care of the allocation and deal location of memory space to the various programs in need of this resource. 3. File Management. All computer systems are used for storage, retrieval and sharing of information. A computer normally stores such information in units called files. Processes can read information from files and can create new files for storing newly generated information. Information stored ii files is made persistent by storing them on a secondary storage media such as a magnetic disk. Files provide a natural and easy means of information sharing. That is, a file can be created by on application-and then shared with different applications at a later time. The file management module of an operating system takes care of file related activities such as organization, storing, retrieval, naming, sharing, and protection of files. It allows programs to use a set of operations that characterize the file abstraction and free the programmers from concerns about the details of space allocation and layout of the secondary storage device. 4. Device Management. A computer system normally consists of several I/O devices such as terminal, printer, disk, and tape. The device management module of an operating system takes care of controlling all the computer's I/O devices. It keeps track of I/O requests from processes, issue commands to the I/O devices, and ensures correct data transmission to/from an I/O device. It also provides an interface between the devices and

the rest of the system that is simple and easy to use. Often, this interface is device independent, that is, the interface is same for all types of I/O devices. 5. Security. Computer systems often store large amounts of information, some of which is highly sensitive and valuable to their users. Users can trust the system and rely on it only if the various resources and information of a computer system are protected against destruction and unauthorized access. The security module of an operating system ensures this. This module also ensures that when several disjoint processes are being executed simultaneously, one process does not interfere with the others, or with the operating system itself. 6. Command Interpretation. A user communicates with the operating system, for using the various system resources, via a set of commands provided by the operating system. The operating system also provides a simple language, known as command language (CL) or job control language (JCL using which a user can put several commands together from the command set to describe the resource requirements of the job. The command interpretation module of an operating system takes care of interpreting user commands, supplied individually or in the form of command language, and directing the system resources to handle the requests. With this mode of interaction with the system, the user is usually not too concerned with the hardware details of the system, or with how the operating system will direct the hardware to handle certain requests.

Types of operating system

Real-time A real-time operating system is a multitasking operating system that aims at executing real-time applications. Real-time operating systems often use specialized scheduling algorithms so that they can achieve a deterministic nature of behavior. The main object of real-time operating systems is their quick and predictable response to events. They either have an event-driven or a time-sharing design. An event-driven system switches between tasks based on their priorities while time-sharing operating systems switch tasks based on clock interrupts. Multi-user vs. Single-user A multi-user operating system allows multiple users to access a computer system concurrently. Time-sharing system can be classified as multi-user systems as they enable a multiple user access to a computer through the sharing of time. Single-user operating systems, as opposed to a multi-user operating system, are usable by a single user at a time. Being able to have multiple accounts on a Windows operating system does not make it a multi-user system. Rather, only the network administrator is the real user. But for a Unix-like operating system, it is possible for two users to login at a time and this capability of the OS makes it a multi-user operating system.

Multi-tasking vs. Single-tasking When a single program is allowed to run at a time, the system is grouped under a singletasking system, while in case the operating system allows the execution of multiple tasks at one time, it is classified as a multi-tasking operating system. Multi-tasking can be of two types namely, pre-emptive or co-operative. In pre-emptive multitasking, the operating system slices the CPU time and dedicates one slot to each of the programs. Unix-like operating systems such as Solaris and Linux support pre-emptive multitasking. Cooperative multitasking is achieved by relying on each process to give time to the other processes in a defined manner. MS Windows prior to Windows 95 used to support cooperative multitasking. Distributed A distributed operating system manages a group of independent computers and makes them appear to be a single computer. The development of networked computers that could be linked and communicate with each other, gave rise to distributed computing. Distributed computations are carried out on more than one machine. When computers in a group work in cooperation, they make a distributed system. Embedded Embedded operating systems are designed to be used in embedded computer systems. They are designed to operate on small machines like PDAs with less autonomy. They are able to operate with a limited number of resources. They are very compact and extremely efficient by design. Windows CE and Minix 3 are some examples of embedded operating systems.