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Operating Systems |
If you own a PC, you must have noticed that your system came with a pre-loaded operating system (OS). In general terms, a computer must have an operating system installed. It's the most important program running on a computer. It helps other programs to run efficiently. Operating systems perform the most basic of actions, such as, identifying the input commands of a keyboard, sending output to the display screen, tracking the files and directories on the disk and so on. Most importantly, an OS provides a context within which a program is created and run. Without an operating system, your computer is as good as a piece of scrap.
A Brief History
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The first generation of computers didn't have any operating system. During the 1960s, IBM developed IBM System/360 which made available a family of mainframe computers. Today's mainframe operating systems have distantly descended from this original system. Initiation of the idea of time sharing allowed resources of an expensive computer to be shared by multiple computer users.
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Evolution of microcomputers during the 90s created the demand for operating systems providing flexibility and robustness of large computers.
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Types
Keeping pace with the evolution of computers, operating systems have also evolved. The different types of operating systems and their examples are as follows:
· Graphical User Interface (GUI) - This operating system allows users to navigate using a mouse.
Examples: System 7.x, Windows 98, Windows CE
· Multi User -These types of operating system allow the computer to be simultaneously used by multiple users.
Examples: Windows 2000, Linux, UNIX
· Multitasking - This OS allows multiple software applications to be run at the same time.
Examples: Windows 2000, UNIX
· Multi-threading - Multi-threading operating systems allow different sections of a software program to run simultaneously.
Examples: Windows 2000, Linux, UNIX
· Multi-processing - These OS support a program to be run on more than one CPU.
· Real time - Instantly responds to an input.
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Some of the widely known operating systems are:
· Windows 3.x
· Windows 95
· Windows 98
· Windows 98 SE
· Windows ME
· Windows NT
· Windows 2000
· Windows XP
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Allwonderscomputers provides everything you wanted to know about Operating Systems.
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