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Raising a new Generation of Leaders

CST 111

Operating System Basics

 Lecture Objectives
• Describe System Software with examples
• Highlight and describe the various types of Operating
Systems
• Describe Booting and the Booting Process
• Describe Windows 7 environment and basic
operations.
• Understand File Systems and organization in Windows
OS.
• Learn some shortcut keys used in Windows 11-2

environment 2
System Software:
Operating Systems

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 System Software
• A System software is a type of computer program
that is designed to run a computer's hardware and
application programs.
• A system software manages all other programs in a
computer.
• The operating system(OS) is the best-known
example of a system software.
• Other examples include utility programs like
compilers and debuggers

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 Operating Systems
• An operating system is software that communicates
with the hardware and allows other programs to run.

• It is comprised of the fundamental files a computer

needs to boot up and function.

• Every desktop computer, tablet, and smartphone has

an operating system that provides basic functionality
for the device.

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 Main functions of an OS
• Control and manage computer hardware
• Run application/user programs
• Organize files and directories/folders (File
Management)
• Provide a user interface

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 Types of Operating Systems
• OS can be categorized based on the types of
computers they control and the sort of applications
they support.

 Real-Time OS (RTOS)
‒ Used to control machinery, scientific instruments and
industrial systems.
‒ Has very little user-interface capability, and no end-user
utilities
‒ Examples include – VxWorks, RTLinux, PikeOS,
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Types of Operating Systems – cont’d
 Single-User, Single-Task OS

‒ Designed to manage the computer so that one

user can effectively do one thing at a time. E.g.
the Palm OS for Palm handheld computers

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Types of Operating System – cont’d
 Single-User, Multi-Task
‒ Mostly used on desktop and laptop computers today.
‒ Microsoft's Windows and Apple's MacOS
platforms are both examples.
‒ A single user can have several programs in operation
at the same time.
‒ For example, a Windows user may be writing a note in
a word processor while downloading a file from the
Internet and also printing the text of an e-mail
message.
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Types of Operating System – cont’d
 Multi-User
‒ A multi-user operating system allows many different
users to take advantage of the computer's resources
simultaneously.
‒ Examples include the UNIX server and Windows
NT
‒ The Unix server allows multiple users to log on
simultaneously and have access to files on the server.
‒ Windows NT also allows multiple users to log on using
the Remote Desktop Connection 10
 Other Classification of OS – cont’d
• Operating Systems may also be classified based on
the environment they operate. They include:
 Desktop OS
‒ The control program in a user's machine (desktop
or laptop).
‒ Also called a "client operating system,"
‒ Examples are Windows, Mac OS, Linux .

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 Other Classification of OS
 Server OS
‒ Specifically designed to run on servers -
specialized computers that operate within a
client/server architecture to serve the requests of
client computers on the network.
‒ Examples are Windows Server, OS X Server, Free
BSD, UNIX

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Other Classification of OS – cont’d
 Network OS
‒ Allows multiple computers to communicate, share
files and hardware devices with one another
within a network.
‒ Examples inlcude Novell Netware, MS Windows
NT, Sun Solaris, MS Windows 2000, Linux

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Other Classification of OS – cont’d
 Mobile OS
‒ Designed to run on mobile devices such as mobile
phones, smartphones, PDAs, tablet computers and
other handheld devices.
‒ Examples include Google Android, Apple iOS,
Nokia Symbian, Windows Phone, Windows 8,
Blackberry OS

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15
Windows Operating System

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 Brief History
• The Windows operating system was created by
Microsoft in the early 1990's and has progressed along
two converging lines since that time.
 Home use
 Office environment.

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 Brief History – Cont’d
• Windows 3.1 (1992) was Microsoft's first major
operating system release.
 The OS had a GUI (graphical user interface) as
well as an underlying command-based MS-
DOS system.
 Windows 3.1 was fairly unstable and had trouble
running multiple applications, even on a machine
with plenty of RAM.

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 Brief History – Cont’d
• Windows NT (1993) (short for New Technology)
proved more stable than Windows 3.1, but was not
very popular among end users;
 NT was memory-intensive at a time when RAM was
still expensive

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 Brief History – cont’d
• Windows XP Home Edition (2001)
 The MOST POPULAR Windows OS designed for the home.
 XP introduced a flashy new interface, a significantly faster
boot-up time and added stability.
• Does not have ability to join a domain and network with other
computers.

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 History of Windows OS – cont’d
• Windows XP Professional Edition (2001)
 XP OS designed for the office.
 Uses the same interface and has the same
capabilities as XP home,
 But also has the ability to join a domain and network
with other computers.

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 Using Windows OS:
Booting Your Computer

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What is Booting?

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 What is Booting?
• Booting is a startup sequence that starts the
operating system of a computer when it is turned on.
• A boot sequence is the initial set of operations that
the computer performs when it is switched on.
• Every computer has a boot sequence.
• There are two types of booting:
 Cold booting
 Warm booting

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 Cold and Warm Booting
• Cold Booting
 Starting a computer that has been switched off usually by
pressing the switch button on the system unit.

• Warm Booting
 Restarting the operating system alone (without the computer
being switched off)
 Usually as a result of a system crash or 'freeze.

 Sometimes done by pressing CTRL + ALT +DELETE key

combination
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 How Booting Operates
• Once a computer switch is turned on, a basic input/basic output
code(BIOS), that the system uses for the booting process starts.
• The BIOS has two functions for the computer system:
 To run diagnostic checks and detect the devices and memory, and

 To load the bootstrap program for the computer.

 The bootstrap is a small program that initializes the

operating system during start-up.
 The process continues until the system desktop is
displayed.

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Windows is now ready

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Introducing Windows 7

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 Windows 7 Desktop
• Desktop Icons and Shortcuts
• Icons and shortcuts in Windows 7 work basically the same as
they do in Windows XP.
• Windows 7 has additional features like Icon Size, which can be
changed by:
 Right Clicking the desktop (right Click menu screen
shot)
 select the "View" option then select either "Large
Medium or Small" icons (View context menu screen
shot)
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 Windows 7 Desktop – cont’d
• Start Button
• The Start Button in Windows 7 has the same functionality and
location as it did in Windows XP. It has however changed in
appearance.
• The start button allows you to access your programs and files,
as well as search for documents or programs.
• This is also where you can go to access "My Documents"
"Control Panel" etc.

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 Windows 7 Desktop – cont’d
• Task Bar
• Several things have been added or changed in Windows
7.
• The purpose of the task bar is the same as it was in
Windows XP, that is to provide an area to:
 Access Programs
 Access Documents
 Keep track of open Programs and Files
 Display Notifications
 Make Quick Adjustments to Wireless Connections etc.
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 Windows 7 Desktop – cont’d
• System Tray
• Located at the far right bottom corner of your screen. In
Windows 7 the taskbar automatically hides additional icons
under an up arrow as indicated in this picture:

• By default Windows Notifications, Battery Information,

Network Information, Volume Information and the Time, are
shown and not hidden in the System Tray.
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 Windows 7 Desktop – cont’d
• Notification Area
• Same location it was in Windows XP which is just above the
System Tray.
• In this area, Windows will show notifications regarding
updates, low power, etc.
• This is also where notifications will appear regarding new
applications that are available to be installed via the Control
Panel.

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 Exercise 1 - Create a Desktop Icon
• Use the following steps to create a shortcut to the
Calculator program:
• Click the Start Button
• Find the Calculator program:
 Click the Start button, type Calculator in the
search box
• Right-click on the Calculator program
• Click Send To - Desktop (Create Shortcut)
• View the new Icon on your Desktop
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 Exercise 2 - Using Desktop Icons
• Try these actions to help you gain more experience with
Desktop Icons:
 Double-click the Calculator Icon to start the Calculator
 Close the Calculator
 Right-click the Calculator Icon and choose Rename
 Change the name of the short-cut Icon to Add (Press the
Enter key to save your change)
 Now, Right-click the Add Icon
 Choose Delete from the menu to remove it from your
Desktop.
• Deleting Desktop icons does not remove the program from
your computer.
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 Exercise 3 - Exploring the
Notification Area
• Move your mouse over an icon in the notification area.

• Leave it there for a second and a short description will pop up.

• Click on an icon to bring up a menu or control

• Double-Click a notification icon to access the related

program

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Exercise 4 - Pinning Programs to the Task Bar
• In Windows 7, favourite programs can be "pinned" to the
taskbar so that they remain there, even if they are not
running.
• This is just another way to quickly access these programs.
Here are the steps:
• Right-Click a desktop icon, or a Program from your Start
search list.
• Choose Pin to taskbar
• Right-click a pinned Program and choose Unpin from the
taskbar to remove it.

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 The Desktop Background
• Other common changes people make to their desktop
include:
• Changing the Desktop Wallpaper. This is the picture
or pattern you see after all programs are closed down.
• Setting a Screensaver. Screen savers were originally
used to avoid screen burn-in. Modern displays do not
have this problem so now a screen saver is used for
two reasons:
 To automatically "lock" the computer after a period of
inacvitity.
 To display a slideshow of favourite photographs when 43
the
Describing the parts of a Window

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45
 Parts of a typical Window
• A window is a rectangular area of the screen in which you
can view programs, folders, files, or icons.
• The window is made up of several components as shown in
previous slide.
• Tool bar-a row or block of buttons, usually displayed at the top of
a window, which contains commands for tasks you can perform
with a single click.
• Forward & Back buttons-you can use these buttons to go back
and forward while navigating around the parts of the Windows 7
window
• Address bar-displays your current location in the folder structure
of Windows 7 46
 Parts of typical Window – cont’d
• Title bar-contains the window title and basic window control
buttons. (Located at the top of the window.)

• Search box-a box found in windows that provides a way to find

specific files and folders

• Removable storage device-a portable device on which you can

store files, for example, a flash drive

• Details pane-displays the most common properties associated with

the selected file

• Navigation pane-area on the left side of a folder window; it displays

favorites, libraries, and an expandable list of drives and folders.
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Organizing Files and Folders
(file management)

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 What is File System?
• A File System refers to the methods and data structures
that an operating system uses to keep track of files on a
disk or partition;

• It is the structure and logic rules used to manage the

groups of information and their names.

• Without a file system, information placed in a storage

medium would be one large body of data with no way to
tell where one piece of information stops and the next
begins.
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 File System – Cont’d
• By separating the data into pieces and giving each piece a
name, the information is easily isolated and identified.

• It can be likened to the way paper-based information systems

are named, each group of data is called a "file".

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 File Systems - 1
• File - A file is an item that contains information
 for example, text, images or music.

• Directory/Folder - A named group of files.

• On the computer, files are represented with icons; this

makes it easy to recognize a type of file by looking at
its icon. Here are some common file icons:

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File Systems – cont’d

Icons for a few types of files 11-

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 Folder/Directory
• Folder
• A folder is a container you can use to store files in.
• If you have thousands of paper files on your desk, it would be
nearly impossible to find any particular file when you need it.
• That's why people often store paper files in folders inside a
filing cabinet.
• On your computer, folders work the same way. Here are some
typical folder icons:

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 Folder/Directory

An empty folder A folder containing files 11-

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 Directory Trees
• A directory/folder of files can exist in another
directory.
• The directory containing another is usually called the
parent directory, and the one inside is called a
subdirectory/subfolder
• Directory tree - A logical view of a file system; a
structure showing the nested directory organization of
a file system
• Root directory/folder - is the directory at the
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highest level 55
Directory Tree

A Windows directory tree 11-56

 Directory Tree
• At any point in time, one can be working in a particular
location (that is, a particular subdirectory)
• Working directory: The subdirectory in which you are
working

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 File Organization
• In getting files organized, libraries, a feature of
Windows can be used to access your files and folders,
and arrange them in different ways.
• Here's a list of the four default libraries and what
they're typically used for
 Documents library. Use this library to organize and
arrange word-processing documents, spreadsheets,
presentations, and other text-related files.

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 File Organization – cont’d
• Pictures library. Use this library to organize and arrange
your digital pictures, whether you get them from your
camera, scanner, or in e‑mail from other people.
• Music library. Use this library to organize and arrange
your digital music, such as songs that you rip from an audio
CD or that you download from the Internet.
• Videos library. Use this library to organize and arrange
your videos, such as clips from your digital camera or
camcorder, or video files that you download from the
Internet.
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 File Types
• Most files, whether they are in text or binary format, contain a
specific type of information
For example, a file may contain a Java program, a JPEG
image, or an MP3 audio clip
• The kind of information contained in a document is called the
file type
Most operating systems recognize a list of specific file types

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 File Types
• File names are often
separated, usually by a
period, into two parts
 Main name
 File extension
• The file extension
indicates the type of the
Some common file types and their file
extensions

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 Path Names
• Path is a text designation of the location of a file or
subdirectory in a file system, consisting of the series of
directories/folders through which you must go to find the file
• Absolute path - A path that begins at the root and specifies
each step down the tree until it reaches the desired file or
directory
 An absolute, or full, path begins with a drive letter
followed by a colon, such as D:
• Relative path - A path name that begins at the current
working directory
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 Path Names
• Examples of absolute path
• D:\Data\Shapefiles\Soils
• C:\Program Files\MS Office\WinWord.exe
• C:\My Documents\lecturenote\CST111\
internet.doc
• Suppose the current working directory is
• C:\My Documents\lecturenote\
• Then the following relative path names could be used
• ..\Landuse
• lecturenote\cst111intro.doc 11-
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Windows Shortcuts

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 Windows ShortCut keys
• Windows system key combinations
 F1: Help
 CTRL+ESC: Open Start menu
 ALT+TAB: Switch between open programs
 ALT+F4: Quit program
 SHIFT+DELETE: Delete item permanently
 Windows Logo+L: Lock the computer (without using
CTRL+ALT+DELETE)
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 ShortCut keys (cont’d)
• Windows program key combinations
 CTRL+C: Copy
 CTRL+X: Cut
 CTRL+V: Paste
 CTRL+Z: Undo
 CTRL+B: Bold
 CTRL+U: Underline
 CTRL+I: Italic
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 Short Cut keys (cont’d)
• General keyboard-only commands
 F1: Starts Windows Help
 F10: Activates menu bar options
 SHIFT+F10: Opens a shortcut menu for the selected item
(this is the same as right-clicking an object
 CTRL+ESC: Opens the Start menu (use the ARROW
keys to select an item)
 CTRL+ESC or ESC: Selects the Start button (press TAB to
select the taskbar, or press SHIFT+F10 for a context menu)
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End of Lecture 2

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