What is an Operating System?

 An Operating System (OS) is a system software that acts as an interface between computer hardware
components and the user.
 Computer OS is a group of programs which is combined in a file system, these programs manages
computer hardware and work of the user.
 The OS helps you to communicate with the computer without knowing how to speak the computer’s
language.
 Applications like Browsers, Office Software, Notepad, Games, etc., need some environment to run and
perform its tasks, this environment is provided by the OS.
History of OS
 Operating systems were first developed in the late 1950s to
manage tape storage
 The General Motors Research Lab implemented the first OS in the
early 1950s for their IBM 701 called GMOS
 In the mid-1960s, operating systems started to use disks
 In the late 1960s, the first version of the Unix OS was developed by
Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson
 The first OS built by Microsoft was DOS. It was built in 1981 by
purchasing the 86-DOS software from a Seattle company
 The present-day popular OS Windows first came to existence in
1985 when a GUI was created and paired with MS-DOS.
 In 1991 Linus Torvalds created Linux a open source OS as a hobby
while in university for an alternative to MINIX which was itself based
on the principles and design of Unix.
 Mac OS, operating system developed by the Apple Inc. The OS
was introduced in 1984 to run the company’s Macintosh line of
personal computers (PCs).
Series of operating system
1. MS-DOS – Microsoft Disk 1. Slackware (1992) 1. OS X 10 beta: Kodiak 2000
Operating System (1981) 2. OS X 10.0: Cheetah 2001
2. openSUSE (1992) 3. OS X 10.1: Puma 2001
2. Windows 95 (1995) 3. Debian Linux (1993) 4. OS X 10.2: Jaguar 2002
3. Windows NT 3.1 – 4.0 (1993 – 4. Redhat and Fedora 5. OS X 10.3 Panther 2003
1996) 6. OS X 10.4 Tiger (Merlot) 2005
(1995) 7. OS X 10.4.4 Tiger (Chardonnay)]
4. Windows 98 (1998) 5. Gentoo Linux (2000) 8. OS X 10.5 Leopard (Chablis) 2007
5. Windows ME – Millennium Edition 6. Arch Linux (2002) 9. OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard 2009
(2000) 10.OS X 10.7 Lion (Barolo) 2011
7. Ubuntu and Linux 11.OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion (Zinfandel) 2012
6. Windows 2000 (2000) Mint(2004) 12.OS X 10.9 Mavericks (Cabernet) 2013
7. Windows XP (2001) 13.OS X 10.10: Yosemite (Syrah) 2014
14.OS X 10.11: El Capitan (Gala) 2015
8. Windows Vista (2006) 15.macOS 10.12: Sierra (Fuji) 2016
9. Windows 7 (2009) 16.macOS 10.13: High Sierra (Lobo) 2017
17.macOS 10.14: Mojave (Liberty) 2018
10.Windows 8 18.macOS 10.15: Catalina (Jazz) 2019
11.Windows 10 19.macOS 11: Big Sur 2020
20.macOS 12: Monterey - ETA October 2021
12.Windows 11
Functions of Operating System
Some typical operating system functions may include managing memory, files,
processes, I/O system & devices, security, etc.
o In an operating system software performs each of the function:
1. Process management:- Process management helps OS to create and delete
processes. It also provides mechanisms for synchronization and communication
among processes.
2. Memory management:- Memory management module performs the task of
allocation and de-allocation of memory space to programs in need of this resources.
3. File management:- It manages all the file-related activities such as organization
storage, retrieval, naming, sharing, and protection of files.
4. Device Management: Device management keeps tracks of all devices. This module
also responsible for this task is known as the I/O controller. It also performs the task of
allocation and de-allocation of the devices.
5. I/O System Management: One of the main objects of any OS is to hide the
peculiarities of that hardware devices from the user.
6. Secondary-Storage Management: Systems have several levels of
storage which includes primary storage, secondary storage, and cache
storage. Instructions and data must be stored in primary storage or cache so
that a running program can reference it.
7. Security:- Security module protects the data and information of a computer
system against malware threat and authorized access.
8. Command interpretation: This module is interpreting commands given by
the and acting system resources to process that commands.
9. Networking: A distributed system is a group of processors which do not
share memory, hardware devices, or a clock. The processors communicate
with one another through the network.
10. Job accounting: Keeping track of time & resource used by various job
and users.
11. Communication management: Coordination and assignment of
compilers, interpreters, and another software resource of the various users of
the computer systems.
Features of Operating System
 Protected and supervisor mode
 Allows disk access and file systems Device drivers Networking Security
 Program Execution
 Memory management Virtual Memory Multitasking
 Handling I/O operations
 Manipulation of the file system
 Error Detection and handling
 Resource allocation
 Information and Resource Protection
Advantages of using Operating System
– Allows you to hide details of hardware by creating an abstraction
– Easy to use with a GUI
– Offers an environment in which a user may execute programs/applications
– The operating system must make sure that the computer system convenient to
use
– Operating System acts as an intermediary among applications and the hardware
components
– It provides the computer system resources with easy to use format
– Acts as an intermediator between all hardware’s and software’s of the system

Disadvantages of using Operating System

– If any issue occurs in OS, you may lose all the contents which have been stored in your
system
– Operating system’s software is quite expensive for small size organization which adds
burden on them. Example Windows
– It is never entirely secure as a threat can occur at any time
What is Kernel in Operating System
The kernel is the central component of a computer operating systems. The only job
performed by the kernel is to the manage the communication between the software
and the hardware. A Kernel is at the nucleus of a computer. It makes the
communication between the hardware and software possible. While the Kernel is the
innermost part of an operating system, a shell is the outermost one.
System Utilities or Utility software
The Utility Software is system software that helps to maintain the proper and smooth
functioning of a Computer System. It assists the Operating System to manage,
organize, maintain, and optimize the functioning of the computer system. Utility
Software performs certain tasks like virus detection, installation, and uninstallation,
data backup, deletion of unwanted files, etc. Some examples are antivirus software,
file management tools, compression tools, disk management tools, etc.

Types of Utility software

1. Antivirus
2. File Management System
3. Compression Tools
4. Disk Management Tools
5. Disk Cleanup Tool
6. Disk Defragmenter
7. Backup Utility