Definition and Functions of Operating Systems
A. What is Operating System?
The operating system (OS) is the most important software that runs on a compute. Every computer that is generally-purposed must have an operating system to be able to run its programs and applications. It also performs basic taks like, recognizing input from the keyboard, sending outputs to the display screen, keeping tracks of large amount of files and managing the directories on a disk, and controlling different peripheral devices such as printers.
For large systems, the operating system has the greater responsibilities and control to whatever is in your system. It also called as the traffic-cop for it makes sure that programs and users will not interfere each other during its running state. It is also the responsible for our computer security in which it ensures unauthorized users from accessing the system.
It also provide software platforms on top of which other programs can run efficiently and it is known as the application programs. The application programs must run on a particular operating system. With your chosen operating system, you can determine to what application program you can run. For PCs, the most popular operating systems are DOS, OS/2, and Windows. Some of the operating systems are available and open source, such as Linux.
B. Functions of Operating System
There are lots of functions that the operating system performs. But the main goal of the Operating System is to provide a good interface between the user an the hardware.
Device Management
OS manages device communication via their respective drivers. Operating System does the following activities for device management. Keeps tracks of all devices. Programs responsible for this task is known as the I/O controller. Decides which process gets the device when and for how much time. Allocates and de-allocates the device in the efficient way.
File Management
A file system is normally organized into directories for easy navigation and usage. These directories may contain files and other directions. Operating System does the following activities for file management. Keeps track of information, location, uses, status etc. The collective facilities are often known as file system. Decides who gets the resources. Allocates the resources.
Memory Management
Memory management refers to management of Primary Memory or Main Memory. Main memory is a large array of words or bytes where each word or byte has its own address. Main memory provides a fast storage that can be access directly by the CPU. So for a program to be executed, it must in the main memory. Operating System does the following activities for memory management. Keeps tracks of primary memory i.e. what part of it are in use by whom, what part are not in use.
Processor Management
In multi-programming environment, OS decides which process gets the processor when and how much time. This function is called process scheduling. Operating System does the following activities for processor management. Keeps tracks of processor and status of process. Program responsible for this task is known as traffic controller. Allocates the processor (CPU) to a process. De-allocates processor when processor is no longer required.
Resource Management
The resource management function of an OS
allocates computer resources such as CPU time,
main memory, secondary storage, and input and
output devices for use.
Data Management
The data management functions of an OS govern the input and output of data and their location, storage, and retrieval. It also is responsible for storing and retrieving information on disk drives and for the organization of that information on the drive.
The data management functions of an OS govern the input and output of data and their location, storage, and retrieval. It also is responsible for storing and retrieving information on disk drives and for the organization of that information on the drive.
Job Management
The job management function of an OS prepares, schedules, controls, and monitors jobs submitted for execution to ensure the most efficient processing. A job is a collection of one or more related programs and their data.
Communication
The OS also establishes a standard means of communication between users and their computer systems. It does this by providing a user interface and a standard set of commands that control the hardware.
Communication
The OS also establishes a standard means of communication between users and their computer systems. It does this by providing a user interface and a standard set of commands that control the hardware.
Source from:
No comments:
Post a Comment