MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR

DEPARMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

 Introduction to Computer
COM-2105

Lecture 14 : System Software, Operating System, Features and types of OS

Mrs Asma Jabeen

Lecturer

Date:
 Today Agenda of lecture
• System Software
• Operating System
• Features of OS
• Types of OS

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 System Software
• Systems software controls the operation of a computer.
• Without systems software a computer would not function.
• The most important piece of systems software is the operating system.
• The operating system will perform vital tasks such as:
• Managing communications between software and hardware.
• Allocating computer memory to other software programs.
• Allocating CPU time to other software programs.
• EXAMPLES:
• Operation systems
• Utility program
• Programming languages
• Device drivers

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 Operating System

• The operating system is a very special piece of software.

• All the other applications software such as databases and spreadsheets
communicate with the computer hardware through the operating system.
• The operating system controls the overall operation of the computer.
• “An operating system (or OS) is a computer program which controls the entire
operation of the computer. Computer software applications communicate with the
computer hardware via the operating system”.
• When you buy a computer it is usually supplied with an operating system already
installed. You will not be able to use a computer without an operating system.
Different operating systems are available for different types of computer and
different purposes. Some popular operating systems are:
• Microsoft windows
• Disk Operating System (DOS)
• Linux, Unix

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 Types of OS

• COMMAND LINE INTERFACE:

• Command Line Interface (CLI) lets you control your PC by typing commands.
• In the figure below is command line interface.
• There's no mouse or graphical controls like you get in a GUI such as Windows.

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 Types of OS (cont….)

• GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE (GUI):

• “A graphical user interface (GUI, pronounced "gooey") is a computer environment
that simplifies the user's interaction with the computer by representing programs,
commands, files, and other options as visual elements, such as icons, pull-down
menus, buttons, scroll bars, windows, and dialog boxes.”
• By selecting one of these graphical elements, through either use of a mouse or a
selection from a menu, the user can initiate different activities, such as starting a
program or printing a document

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 Tasks performed by OS

• There are several tasks which are performed by practically all operating systems, regardless of the
complexity of the computer the operating system is being used on. These tasks include:
• Managing communications between software and hardware.
• Allocation of computer memory.
• Allocation of CPU time.
• Run and Manage program
• Managing files
• Configure Software and Devices
• Configure Network
• Coordinating Tasks
• Performance Management
• The range of tasks that an operating system performs increases if the computer using the operating
system is on a network or if the operating system is a multi-tasking or multi-user operating system.

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 Types of OS

• An operating system is a software component of a computer system that is

responsible for the management of various activities of the computer and
the sharing of computer resources.
• Users and application programs access the services offered by the operating
systems, by means of system calls and application programming interfaces.
• Users interact with operating systems through Command Line Interfaces
(CLIs) or Graphical User Interfaces known as GUIs as defined above.
• The types of Operating systems are here under:
• Single user/personal computer operating system
• Multiuser/network operating system
• Embedded operating system

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 Single User Operating system

• The most basic type of operating system can only carry out one task at a time and
can only be used by one person at a time.
• More sophisticated multi-tasking and multi-user operating systems can appear to
carry out more than one task and be used by more than one user at the same time.
• It has further types
• DOS
• MAC OS
• Windows

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 DOS
• DOS stands for “Disk Operating System”.
• It is single user operating user has command line interface.
• DOS is product of Microsoft but developed for another company named as IBM.
• DOS uses a command line, or text-based interface, that allows the user to type
commands.
• By typing simple instructions such as pwd (print working directory) and cd
(change directory), the user can browse the files on the hard drive, open files, and
run programs.
• While the commands are simple to type, the user must know the basic commands
in order to use DOS effectively.

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 Windows OS

• Windows is a personal computer operating system from Microsoft.

• Operating system designed and produced by Microsoft Corporation.
• Similar to other operating systems, Windows makes a computer system user-
friendly by providing a graphical display and organizing information so that it can
be easily accessed.
• The operating system utilizes icons and tools that simplify the complex operations
performed by computers.
• Estimates suggest that 90% of personal computers use the Windows operating
system.
• Microsoft introduced the operating system in 1985 and it has continued to be
widely used.

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 Windows OS (cont…..)
• It has many versions like
• Windows 95
• Windows 2000
• Windows 2000 XP
• Windows vista
• Windows ME
• Windows 7
• Windows 8
• Windows 10

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 Multi user OS
• Multi-user operating systems are used on large mainframe computers.
• A mainframe computer system has one very powerful processing unit.
• Many users will all share this processing unit. They use terminals (a keyboard and
a screen) to access the mainframe computer.
• A multi-user operating system lets more than one user work on a mainframe
computer at the same time.
• These operating systems are more complicated and require faster hardware and
more memory to work than more basic operating systems.
• It has further types
• WINDOWS NT SERVER
• WINDOWS 2000 SERVER
• UNIX
• SOLARIS/LINUX
• NOVEL’S Novell’s

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 Embedded OS
• An embedded operating system is an operating system for embedded computer
systems.
• Due to the very nature of embedded systems, the operating system has different
constraints compared to other desktop OS.
• These devices have operating system in ROM. Many handheld devices have the
embedded operation systems like PDA, palm device, tablet pc etc
• Types of embedded OS are here under:
• Windows Embedded CE
• Windows mobile
• Palm operating system
• I phone OS
• Black berry Operating System

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 Utility programs
• A program that performs a specific task related to the management of computer
functions, resources, or files, as password protection, memory management, virus
protection, and file compression.
• It is part that is used to provide services for the hardware and software but it is not
absolutely required to run programs and, if it didn't come with the operating
system, you could perhaps add it.
• In other usages, a utility is an application that is very specialized and relatively
limited in capability.
• Examples of some utilities are here under:
• Virus scanning software
• Backup software
• Scandisk
• Disk defragmenter

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 References

• Computer Fundamentals by Pk Sinha

• Introduction to computer by peter norton

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THANKS