Operating Systems

Operating Systems

1. Managing resources

   • Peripherals
     • A peripheral is a device that is attached to the computer e.g. a webcam or USB stick
   • Printing
     • If the program needs to print a document, you tell the operating system to print it
     • The operating system will then spool the print job (keep it in a queue until the printer is ready)
   • Backing stores
     • Storage devices used to keep backups of important files
   • File compression
     • Storing data in a way that keeps all of the information but uses less disk space
   • Disk de-fragmentation
     • Improves load times by re-arranging file fragments
   • Memory (RAM)
     • In order to make sure there is enough memory for each program that is running, Ram is split into “pages”
     • This stops programs from spying on data from other programs
   • Processes (multi-tasking)
   • Security