Operating Systems

Operating Systems

1. provides an interface

   • GUI
     • shows graphical representations of the computer's functions
     • easy to learn
     • lots of info shown at one time
     • uses many system resources
     • complex, so more can go wrong
     • provided by nearly every OS
   • CLI
     • text based interface. where the user types commands
     • few system resources used
     • easy to automate
     • difficult to learn
     • outputs of different programs can't be compared simultaneously
   • file management
     • lets the user move, copy, delete, sort, search for files
     • compression
   • system settings
     • enable or disable specific hardware
     • volume & screen
     • configuring secondary storage
   • multitasking
     • allows multiple processes to appear to run simultaneously
     • not usually supported by CPU, so OS simulates it by alternating CPU time
   • error messages and support
     • error is passed to the OS, which displays it in the most suitable way
   • customisation
     • allowed by most
     • some allow colour schemes and backgrounds to be changed
     • some allow completely different desktop environments to be installed
   • task management
     • manage processes and allow multitasking
     • gives user the option to prioritise or quit certain processes

2. manages peripherals

   • manages printing using spooling
   • input and output devices

3. manages RAM

4. disk defragmentation

5. manages security

6. manages processes

7. manages backing store