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What is operating system? Explain the

function of operating system.?
What is operating system? Explain the function of operating system.
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Best Answer: (m)

An operating system (OS) is a software program that manages the hardware and
software resources of a computer. A key component of system software, the OS
performs basic tasks, such as controlling and allocating memory, prioritizing the
processing of instructions, controlling input and output devices, facilitating
networking, and managing files.
Modern general-purpose computers, including personal computers and
mainframes, have an operating system (a general purpose operating system) to
run other programs, such as application software. Examples of operating systems
for personal computers include Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS (Darwin),
and Unix.
The lowest level of any operating system is its kernel. This is the first layer of
software loaded into memory when a system boots or starts up. The kernel
provides access to various common core services to all other system and
application programs. These services include, but are not limited to: task
scheduling, memory management, disk access, and access to hardware devices.
Apart from the kernel, an operating system is often distributed with system
software that manages a graphical user interface (although Windows and
Macintosh have integrated these programs into the operating system), as well as
utility programs for tasks such as managing files and configuring the operating
system. Oftentimes distributed with operating systems are application software
that does not directly relate to the operating system's core function, but which
the operating system distributor finds advantageous to supply with the operating
system.
The delineation between the operating system and application software is not
precise, and is occasionally subject to controversy. From commercial or legal
points of view, the delineation can depend on the contexts of the interests
involved. For example, one of the key questions in the United States v. Microsoft
antitrust trial was whether Microsoft's web browser was part of its operating
system, or whether it was a separable piece of application software.
Like the term "operating system" itself, the question of what exactly the
"kernel" should manage is subject to some controversy, with debates over

whether things like file systems should be included in the kernel. Various camps
advocate microkernels, monolithic kernels, and so on.
Operating systems are used on most, but not all, computer systems. The simplest
computers, including the smallest embedded systems and many of the first
computers did not have operating systems. Instead, they relied on the application
programs to manage the minimal hardware themselves, perhaps with the aid of
libraries developed for the purpose. Commercially-supplied operating systems
are present on virtually all modern devices described as computers, from
personal computers to mainframes, as well as mobile computers such as PDAs
and mobile phones.
Source(s): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating_s...
mallimalar_2000 8 years ago
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Definition
An operating system is a group of computer programs that coordinates all
the activities among computer hardware devices. It is the first program
loaded into the computer by a boot program and remains in memory at all
times.
Functions of an operating system
The basic functions of an operating system are:
1.Booting the computer

2.Performs basic computer tasks eg managing the various peripheral

devices eg mouse, keyboard
3.Provides a user interface, e.g. command line, graphical user interface
(GUI)
4.Handles system resources such as computer's memory and sharing of the
central processing unit
(CPU) time by various applications or peripheral devices
5.Provides file management which refers to the way that the operating
system manipulates, stores,
retrieves and saves data.
Tabish 1 year ago
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Operating System is the Software that is run on top of your computer to

make it function. Windows is an operating system. It pretty much operates
the system. There are other operating systems such as Unix, Linux , Mac
OS X.
The most common OS is Windows XP.
It differs from software as software runs on top of an operating system.
You also can have 2 different types of interfaces for your operating system.
A GUI (Graphical User Interface) which is what you see when you start
your PC and are using Windows as windows is graphical. There are also
CLI (COmmand Line Interface) This is usually UNIX based Operating
Systems and also DOS ( of course there are distributions of UNIX and
LINUX which have GUI shells such as Gnome and KDE)
yeskezchemsirer 8 years ago
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It's the foundation software of a computer system, responsible for

controlling and launching the installed applications and computer
peripherals. Common operating systems include MS-DOS, Unix, OS/2,
Macintosh, and Windows. It is the software that schedules tasks, allocates
storage, handles the interface to peripheral hardware, and presents a
default interface to the user when no application program is running.
Chris 8 years ago
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Also known as OS! The most important program that runs on a computer.
Every general-purpose computer must have an operating system to run
other programs. Operating systems perform basic tasks, such as
recognizing input from the keyboard, sending output to the display screen,
keeping track of files and directories on the disk, and controlling
peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers.
For large systems, the operating system has even greater responsibilities
and powers. It is like a traffic cop -- it makes sure that different programs
and users running at the same time do not interfere with each other. The
operating system is also responsible for security, ensuring that
unauthorized users do not access the system.
Operating systems can be classified as follows:
multi-user : Allows two or more users to run programs at the same time.
Some operating systems permit hundreds or even thousands of concurrent

users.
multiprocessing : Supports running a program on more than one CPU.
multitasking : Allows more than one program to run concurrently.
multithreading : Allows different parts of a single program to run
concurrently.
real time: Responds to input instantly. General-purpose operating systems,
such as DOS and UNIX, are not real-time.
Operating systems provide a software platform on top of which other
programs, called application programs, can run. The application programs
must be written to run on top of a particular operating system. Your choice
of operating system, therefore, determines to a great extent the
applications you can run. For PCs, the most popular operating systems are
DOS, OS/2, and Windows, but others are available, such as Linux.
As a user, you normally interact with the operating system through a set of
commands. For example, the DOS operating system contains commands
such as COPY and RENAME for copying files and changing the names of
files, respectively. The commands are accepted and executed by a part of
the operating system called the command processor or command line
interpreter. Graphical user interfaces allow you to enter commands by
pointing and clicking at objects that appear on the screen.
Hope the above helps!!
Kurt 2 8 years ago
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the function of operating system is to control hardware and to provide

'user interface' to a user
8 years ago

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operate = make it work

system = in this case, computer
it operates your system, strangely enough
computers need to be told what to do, short of you, the OS does that
metallhd62 8 years ago
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