- An operating system is a program that manages the computer hardware.
- It also provides a basis for application programs and acts as an intermediary between a user of a computer and the computer hardware.
- An amazing aspect of operating systems is how varied they are in accomplishing these tasks.
- Mainframe operating systems are designed primarily to optimize utilization of hardware.
- Personal computer (PC) operating systems support complex games, business applications, and everything in between.
- Handheld computer operating systems are designed to provide an environment in which a user can easily interface with the computer to execute programs.
- computer system can be divided roughly into four components:
The hardware, the operating system, the application programs, and the users
System view :-
- From the computer’s point of view, the operating system is the program that is most intimate with the hardware.
- An operating system as a resource allocator.
- Software-that may be required to solve a problem: CPU time, memory space, file-storage space, I/O devices, and so on.
- The operating system acts as the manager of these resources.
User view :-
- For user OS is software which provides user friendly environment.
- User can easily create file and execute program.
- The user view of the computer varies by the interface being used.