operating system

operating system

1. What is the purpose of an operating system?

   • An operating system (OS) is software that manages computer hardware and software resources and provides common services for computer programs. The operating system is an essential component of the system software in a computer system. Application programs usually require an operating system to function.

2. What is an operating system?

   • the low-level software that supports a computer's basic functions, such as scheduling tasks and controlling peripherals.
   • Software that managers hardware

3. What are the most common operating systems in use today?

   • In certain categories, one family of operating systems dominates, for example, most desktop and laptop computers use Microsoft Windows, while most supercomputers use Linux. In other categories, such as smartphones and servers, there is more diversity.

4. Provides a user interface

   • Just as the API provides a consistent way for applications to use the resources of the computer system, a user interface (UI) brings structure to the interaction between a user and the computer. In the last decade, almost all development in user interfaces has been in the area of the graphical user interface (GUI), with two models, Apple's Macintosh and Microsoft's Windows, receiving most of the attention and gaining most of the market share. The popular open-source Linux operating system also supports a graphical user interface
   • There are other user interfaces, some graphical and some not, for other operating systems
   • Unix, for example, has user interfaces called shells that present a user interface more flexible and powerful than the standard operating system text-based interface. Programs such as the Korn Shell and the C Shell are text-based interfaces that add important utilities, but their main purpose is to make it easier for the user to manipulate the functions of the operating system.

5. Booting the computer?

   • 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.
     • Have you ever given it a thought that when you press the power button on your laptop or PC, what happens behind the logo of Windows XP/Vista/Seven or Linux? From the pressing of the power button to the appearance of the login screen there are more than hundred components/peripherals that are initialized and thousand lines of code is executed during the process of booting. But what is booting? We will look inside the machine, that actually what all happens.