Operating Systems: Navigation Search

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Operating systems
Common features
 Process management
 Interrupts
 Memory management
 File system
 Device drivers
 Networking (TCP/IP, UDP)
 Security (Process/Memory protection)
 I/O
v·d·e
An operating system (OS) is software, consisting of programs and data, that runs on computers
and manages computer hardware resources[1] and provides common services for efficient
execution of various application software.
For hardware functions such as input and output and memory allocation, the operating system
acts as an intermediary between application programs and the computer hardware,[2][3] although
the application code is usually executed directly by the hardware and will frequently call the OS
or be interrupted by it. Operating systems are found on almost any device that contains a
computer—from cellular phones and video game consoles to supercomputers and web servers.
Examples of popular modern operating systems for personal computers are (in alphabetical
order): GNU/Linux, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows and Unix [4]
Contents
[hide]
 1 Types of Operating Systems

 2 Summary
 3 History
o 3.1 Mainframes
o 3.2 Microcomputers
 4 Examples of operating systems
o 4.1 Microsoft Windows
o 4.2 Unix and Unix-like operating systems
 4.2.1 BSD and its descendants
 4.2.2 Mac OS X
 4.2.3 Plan 9
o 4.3 Linux and GNU
 4.3.1 Google Chrome OS
o 4.4 Other
 5 Components
o 5.1 The user interface
 5.1.1 Graphical user interfaces
o 5.2 The kernel
 5.2.1 Program execution
 5.2.2 Interrupts
 5.2.3 Modes
 5.2.4 Memory management
 5.2.5 Virtual memory
 5.2.6 Multitasking
 5.2.7 Disk access and file systems
 5.2.8 Device drivers
o 5.3 Networking
o 5.4 Security
 6 Real-time operating systems
 7 Hobby development
 8 Diversity of operating systems and portability
 9 See also
 10 References
 11 External links
[edit] Types of Operating Systems

Real-time Operating System: It 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 and Single-user Operating Systems: The operating systems of this type allow a
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 and Single-tasking Operating Systems: When a single program is allowed to

run at a time, the system is grouped under a single-tasking 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 Operating System: An operating system that manages a group of independent

computers and makes them appear to be a single computer is known as a distributed operating
system. 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 System: The operating systems designed for being used in embedded computer
systems are known as embedded operating 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.
[edit] Summary
Early computers were built to perform a series of single tasks, like a calculator. Operating
systems did not exist in their modern and more complex forms until the early 1960s.[5] Some
operating system features were developed in the 1950s, such as monitor programs that could
automatically run different application programs in succession to speed up processing. Hardware
features were added that enabled use of runtime libraries, interrupts, and parallel processing.
When personal computers by companies such as Apple Inc., Atari, IBM and Amiga became
popular in the 1980s, vendors added operating system features that had previously become
widely used on mainframe and mini computers. Later, many features such as graphical user
interface were developed specifically for personal computer operating systems.
An operating system consists of many parts. One of the most important components is the kernel,
which controls low-level processes that the average user usually cannot see: it controls how
memory is read and written, the order in which processes are executed, how information is
received and sent by devices like the monitor, keyboard and mouse, and decides how to interpret
information received from networks. The user interface is a component that interacts with the
computer user directly, allowing them to control and use programs. The user interface may be
graphical with icons and a desktop, or textual, with a command line. Application programming
interfaces provide services and code libraries that let applications developers write modular code
reusing well defined programming sequences in user space libraries or in the operating system
itself. Which features are considered part of the operating system is defined differently in various
operating systems. For example, Microsoft Windows considers its user interface to be part of the
operating system, while many versions of Linux do not.
[edit] History
OS/360 was used on most IBM mainframe computers beginning in 1966, including the
computers that helped NASA put a man on the moon.
Main article: History of operating systems
In the early 1950s, a computer could execute only one program at a time. Each user had sole use
of the computer and would arrive at a scheduled time with program and data on punched paper
cards and tape. The program would be loaded into the machine, and the machine would be set to
work until the program completed or crashed. Programs could generally be debugged via a front
panel using toggle switches and panel lights. It is said that Alan Turing was a master of this on
the early Manchester Mark 1 machine, and he was already deriving the primitive conception of
an operating system from the principles of the Universal Turing machine.[citation needed]
Later machines came with libraries of software, which would be linked to a user's program to
assist in operations such as input and output and generating computer code from human-readable
symbolic code. This was the genesis of the modern-day operating system. However, machines
still ran a single job at a time. At Cambridge University in England the job queue was at one time
a washing line from which tapes were hung with different colored clothes-pegs to indicate job-
priority.[citation needed]
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

 1 Types of Operating Systems

[edit] Types of Operating Systems

Multi-tasking and Single-tasking Operating Systems: When a single program is allowed to

Distributed Operating System: An operating system that manages a group of independent

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