Download The Operating System The Operating System of the computer is a

The Operating System
The Operating System of the computer is a master program that controls the operation of a
computer. It is described as a boot program that loads the computer when it is turned on. The
roles of the Operating Systems includes managing the functioning of the computer hardware,
running the applications programs serving as an interface between the computers and the user
and allocating computer resources to various functions.
The Operating Systems performs various functions:
User Interface: The user interface currently is an all graphics based that includes the windows,
menus and method of interaction between the user and the computer. Prior to the graphic user
interface, all operation were performed by typing in commands. This interface was called a
command line interface. The command line interface was included in all major operating systems
and all highly technical operations were executed from the command line.
Job Management: The job management function controls the order and time in which
applications are run. This function consists in preparing, scheduling, controlling and monitoring
jobs submitted for execution to ensure the most efficient processing.
Task Management: Is the ability to simultaneously execute multiple programs. This function
provides the users or administrators with information of all application and process running. In
mainframes and servers environment, applications can be prioritized to run faster or slower
depending on their purposes. This function also keeps track of the CPU and Memory usage.
Data Management: The data management function keeps track of the data on disk and other
storage devices. This function also governs the input and output of the data and their location,
storage and retrieval.
Device Management: The device management function controls peripheral devices by sending
them commands in their proprietary command language. This proprietary command language is
also known as driver which is a software routine that deals with each device.
Security: Operating Systems provide password protection to keep unauthorized users out of the
system. Operating Systems also maintain activity logs and accounting of the user’s time.
There are several Operating Systems in use such as Windows 7, Windows XP and Windows
Vista, Macintosh OS X, LINUX and UNIX and last but not least MS-DOS.
Throughout the history of computers, the operating systems have continuously evolved as the
needs of the users and the capabilities of the computer system changes. The earliest computers
were mainframe that had no form of an operating system. In the first generation of computers,
programs were entered one bit at a time on row of mechanical plug boards. Programming
language was unknown as well as the operating systems. In the second generation of computers
the routine was improve with the introduction of punch card. By the early 1950, General Motors
Research Lab implemented the first operating system for the IBM 701. This system generally run
one task at a time and was known as the batch processing system because data were submitted in
batches or groups. The third generation was also a batch processing systems but computers were
able to performed several jobs at once. Operating Systems designers developed concepts of
multiprogramming where several jobs are in the memory at once. Another major feature in the
third generation operating system was the simultaneous peripheral operations on line this feature
is called spooling. This is when a high speed device like a disk is introduced between a running
program and a low speed device involved in input or output program. Another feature was time
sharing technique. Timesharing systems were developed to multiprogramming large number of
simultaneous interactive users. The fourth generation evolved with the development of the Large
Scale Integration circuits and chips. Operating System entered in the system of the personal
computer and workstation age. Microprocessor technology was developed to a point that it
became possible to build desktop computers as powerful as the mainframe of the 1970’s. Two
operating systems dominated the personal computers; the MS-DOS by Microsoft for the IBM
personal computers and UNIX dominant on the large personal computers using by Motorola
6899 CPU family. Today all multi-purpose computers from desktop to mainframe and consumer
electronics devices use an operating system.
The MS-DOS was the main operating systems for the IBM PC during the 1980 and mid 1990
until it was gradually superseded by an operating system offering a graphic users interface (GUI)
in particular by Microsoft Windows operating system. With the release of Microsoft Windows
95, MS-DOS had a very small role. It was installed for compatible reason to make Windows 95
able to start. Today MS-DOS is no longer in use in desktop. With the development of Window
XP, MS-DOS is no longer needed to boot the computer. Windows XP contains a copy of the
Windows ME boot disk. Today, MS-DOS is still in used in certain enterprises to run legacy
application such as a food service management.
Operating Systems can be categorized in Open Source and Proprietary. LINUX is a computer
operating system based on open source software. LINUX is installed in a wide variety of
computer hardware from mobile phones, tablets computers, desktop computers, video game
console, mainframes and super computers. Open source means that the code of the language in
which a program is written can be used, modified and distributed commercially and noncommercially by anyone under the General Public License. LINUX is package in a format
known as LINUX Distribution for desktop and server use. LINUX kernel is used in the
distribution mentioned supporting utilities and libraries and usually a large amount of application
software. LINUX was originally written in 1991, the main supporting user space system tools
and libraries are the basis for the GNU/LINUX.
LINUX is not the only open source operating system, but is by far the most widely uses. Below
are several open source operating systems:
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Ubuntu: Operating system derived from UNIX
OpenIndiana: Is a free Unix like operating system
Symbian: Is a real time mobile operating system
ReactOS: Operating System built on Windows NT Architecture
Haiku: Is a free and open source operating system compatible with BeOS
Some of these open source operating systems are base on the principles of copyleft, which is the
right to distribute copies. The most common free software license is the GNU GPL used for the
LINUX kernel.
Proprietary Operating System is the one that a company designs, develops, and markets it as the
company own system. Like Microsoft Windows and Macintosh OS X. It is licensed under
exclusive legal rights of the copyright holder. This license gives the right to use the software but
restricts the right to do modifications, further distributions or reverse engineering. Microsoft
Windows is designed and developed by Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft Windows was
originated in 1985 as a running application on top of MS-DOS, which was the standard operating
system on most of the Intel architecture personal computers at that time. Currently, the most
widely use of the Windows family is Windows XP, Windows 7 and Window Server 2008 R2.
Server version of Windows is widely used but is not as personal computers. Windows competes
against LINUX and BSD for server market share. Macintosh OS X is a graphical operating
system developed, marketed and sold by Apple Inc. MAC OS X is the successor to the MAC OS,
which has been Apple’s Operating System since 1984. MAC OS X is a UNIX operating system
built on technology that had been developed by Next Inc until Apple Inc. purchased the company
in 1997. MAC OS X was first release in 1999 with a desk top oriented version (MAC OS X
v10.0). There has been six more distinct client and server editions of MAC OS X that have been
released and named after big cats. The current version of MAC OS X is “Lion”. The server
edition MAC OS X Server it is built identical to its desktop counterpart but runs on Apple’s Line
of Macintosh server hardware. MAC OS X Server includes work group management and
administration software tools. All server aspect of MAC OS X Server has been integrated into
the client version as well.
MINIX is an operating system that fulfills both open source and proprietary roles. It was first
released in 1987 with its complete source code made available to universities for study and
research.
Operating systems can be classified as Open Source, Proprietary, Disk Operating System,
Network Operating System, Web Operating System, Generic, Embedded, and Capability Based.
There are also a large number of Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) Operating Systems, a
series of Unix Variants. The embedded operating systems are the ones used by Smartphone’s
like Blackberry OS, Windows CE, Android, iOS, and Windows Mobile.
Conclusion:
Operating Systems provides a software platform on which other programs can run. A user
normally interacts with the operating systems through commands. The commands are executed
through the command line interpreter or command processor. The Graphical User Interface
(GUI) allows the user to enter commands by pointing and clicking at objects that appears on the
screen. The Operating Systems has several jobs that allow communication between the system
software and application in memory, and input/output devices. Operating Systems provide
security by preventing unauthorized access to the computer’s resources. The Operating Systems
can be categorized as open source and proprietary. Open source operating systems are the ones
that the code of the language in which a program is written are accessible to the public and can
be modified. LINUX is one of the several Open Source Operating Systems. Proprietary
Operating System is the one that a company designs, develops, and markets it as the company
own system, such as Microsoft Windows, Macintosh OS X and much more. MINIX is an
operating system that performs both roles.
References:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating_system
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/O/operating_system.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS-DOS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_OS_X