The term OS or 

operating system is a type of software and it works as an

interface between the user and computer to perform all the tasks like memory
management, file management, input & output handling, security, process
management, Job accounting, error detecting, system performance
controlling, peripheral devices controlling like printers & disk drives. The
popular operating systems mainly include Windows, Linux, AIX, VMS, z/OS,
etc. This article discusses an overview of what is an operating system and its
components.

What is an Operating System (OS)?

Definition: An operating system can be defined as a system like a large &
complex is partitioned into small pieces using an interface. This system is
used to share the different OS components which include file, input/output
device, process memory, etc. All the partitioned pieces must be well-defined
parts of the system with carefully classified i/ps, o/ps & function. We know that
all the systems don’t have a similar structure but several current operating
systems share the components of the system outlined below.
The OS is the most significant program in a computer because every
computer works with an operating system (OS) to run all the programs &
applications. The main tasks of the computer OS are identifying i/p from the
keyboard, sending o/p to the screen, tracking files, storage drives, peripheral
devices controlling, like printers, etc.

Components of Operating System

The components of an operating system play a key role to make a variety of
computer system parts work together. The operating components are
discussed below.
 operating-system-components
Kernel
The kernel in the OS provides the basic level of control on all the computer
peripherals. In the operating system, the kernel is an essential component that
loads firstly and remains within the main memory. So that memory
accessibility can be managed for the programs within the RAM, it creates the
programs to get access from the hardware resources. It resets the operating
states of the CPU for the best operation at all times.

Process Execution
The OS gives an interface between the hardware as well as an application
program so that the program can connect through the hardware device by
simply following procedures & principles configured into the OS.
The program execution mainly includes a process created through an OS
kernel that uses memory space as well as different types of other resources.
Interrupt
In the operating system, interrupts are essential because they give a reliable
technique for the OS to communicate & react to their surroundings. An
interrupt is nothing but one kind of signal between a device as well as a
computer system otherwise from a program in the computer that requires the
OS to leave and decide accurately what to do subsequently. Whenever an
interrupt signal is received, then the hardware of the computer puts on hold
automatically whatever computer program is running presently, keeps its
status & runs a computer program which is connected previously with the
interrupt.
Memory Management
The functionality of an OS is nothing but memory management which
manages main memory & moves processes backward and forward between
disk & main memory during implementation. This tracks each & every memory
position; until it is assigned to some process otherwise it is open. It verifies
how much memory can be allocated to processes and also makes a decision
to know which process will obtain memory at what time. Whenever memory is
unallocated, then it tracks correspondingly to update the status. Memory
management work can be divided into three important groups like memory
management of hardware, OS and application memory management.

Multitasking
It describes the working of several independent computer programs on a
similar computer system. Multitasking in an OS allows an operator to execute
one or more computer tasks at a time. Since many computers can perform
one or two tasks at a time, usually this can be done with the help of time-
sharing, where each program uses the time of a computer to execute.

Networking
Networking can be defined as when the processor interacts with each other
through communication lines. The design of communication-network must
consider routing, connection methods, safety, the problems of opinion &
security.

Presently most of the operating systems maintain different networking

techniques, hardware, & applications. This involves that computers that run on
different operating systems could be included in a general network to share
resources like data, computing, scanners, printers, which uses the
connections of either wired otherwise wireless.

Security
If a computer has numerous individuals to allow the immediate process of
various processes, then the many processes have to be protected from other
activities. This system security mainly depends upon a variety of technologies
that work effectively. Current operating systems give an entrée to a number of
resources, which are obtainable to work the software on the system, and to
external devices like networks by means of the kernel. The operating system
should be capable of distinguishing between demands which have to be
allowed for progressing & others that don’t need to be processed. Additionally,
to permit or prohibit a security version, a computer system with a high level of
protection also provides auditing options. So this will allow monitoring the
requests from accessibility to resources

User Interface
A GUI or user interface (UI) is the part of an OS that permits an operator to
get the information. A user interface based on text displays the text as well as
its commands which are typed over a command line with the help of a
keyboard.

The OS-based applications mainly provide a specific user interface for

efficient communication. The main function of a user interface of an
application is to get the inputs from the operator & to provide o/ps to the
operator. But, the sorts of inputs received from the user interface as well as
the o/p types offered by the user interface may change from application to
application. The UI of any application can be classified into two types namely
GUI (graphical UI) & CLI (command line user interface).

Thus, this is all about an overview of an operating system. The main components
of an OS mainly include kernel, API or application program interface, user
interface & file system, hardware devices and device drivers. Here is a
question for you, what are the different types of an OS?