Operating Systems Basics

Operating system
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources,
and provides common services for computer programs.
Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also include
accounting software for cost allocation of processor time, mass storage, printing, and other
resources.
For hardware functions such as input and output and memory allocation, the operating system acts
as an intermediary between programs and the computer hardware,[1][2] although the application
code is usually executed directly by the hardware and frequently makes system calls to an OS
function or is interrupted by it. Operating systems are found on many devices that contain a
computer – from cellular phones and video game consoles to web servers and supercomputers.
The dominant general-purpose[3] desktop operating system is Microsoft Windows with a market
share of around 76.45%. macOS by Apple Inc. is in second place (17.72%), and the varieties of Linux
are collectively in third place (1.73%).[4] In the mobile sector (including smartphones and tablets),
Android's share is up to 72% in the year 2020.[5] According to third quarter 2016 data, Android's
share on smartphones is dominant with 87.5 percent with also a growth rate of 10.3 percent per
year, followed by Apple's iOS with 12.1 percent with per year decrease in market share of 5.2
percent, while other operating systems amount to just 0.3 percent.[6] Linux distributions are
dominant in the server and supercomputing sectors. Other specialized classes of operating systems
(special-purpose operating systems)[7][8]), such as embedded and real-time systems, exist for many
applications. Security-focused operating systems also exist. Some operating systems have low
system requirements (i.e. light-weight Linux distribution). Others may have higher system
requirements.
Some operating systems require installation or may come pre-installed with purchased computers
(OEM-installation), whereas others may run directly from media (i.e. live cd) or flash memory (i.e.
usb stick).
Types of operating systems
Single-tasking and multi-tasking
A single-tasking system can only run one program at a time, while a multi-tasking operating system
allows more than one program to be running in concurrency. This is achieved by time-sharing, where
the available processor time is divided between multiple processes. These processes are each
interrupted repeatedly in time slices by a task-scheduling subsystem of the operating system. Multi-
tasking may be characterized in preemptive and co-operative types. In preemptive multitasking, the
operating system slices the CPU time and dedicates a slot to each of the programs. Unix-like
operating systems, such as Solaris and Linux—as well as non-Unix-like, such as AmigaOS—support
preemptive multitasking. Cooperative multitasking is achieved by relying on each process to provide
time to the other processes in a defined manner. 16-bit versions of Microsoft Windows used
cooperative multi-tasking; 32-bit versions of both Windows NT and Win9x used preemptive multi-
tasking.
Single- and multi-user
Single-user operating systems have no facilities to distinguish users, but may allow multiple
programs to run in tandem.[9] A multi-user operating system extends the basic concept of multi-
tasking with facilities that identify processes and resources, such as disk space, belonging to multiple
users, and the system permits multiple users to interact with the system at the same time. Time-
sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also include
accounting software for cost allocation of processor time, mass storage, printing, and other
resources to multiple users.
Distributed
A distributed operating system manages a group of distinct, networked computers and makes them
appear to be a single computer, as all computations are distributed (divided amongst the constituent
computers).[10]
Templated
In the distributed and cloud computing context of an OS, templating refers to creating a single
virtual machine image as a guest operating system, then saving it as a tool for multiple running
virtual machines. The technique is used both in virtualization and cloud computing management,
and is common in large server warehouses.[11]
Embedded
Embedded operating systems are designed to be used in embedded computer systems. They are
designed to operate on small machines with less autonomy (e.g. PDAs). They are very compact and
extremely efficient by design, and are able to operate with a limited amount of resources. Windows
CE and Minix 3 are some examples of embedded operating systems.
Real-time
A real-time operating system is an operating system that guarantees to process events or data by a
specific moment in time. A real-time operating system may be single- or multi-tasking, but when
multitasking, it uses specialized scheduling algorithms so that a deterministic nature of behavior is
achieved. Such an event-driven system switches between tasks based on their priorities or external
events, whereas time-sharing operating systems switch tasks based on clock interrupts.
Library
A library operating system is one in which the services that a typical operating system provides, such
as networking, are provided in the form of libraries and composed with the application and
configuration code to construct a unikernel: a specialized, single address space, machine image that
can be deployed to cloud or embedded environments.

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Operating Systems Basics

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Operating system

Types of operating systems

Single-tasking and multi-tasking

Single- and multi-user

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