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An operating system is a software component of a computer system that is responsible for the
management of various activities of the computer and the sharing of computer resources. It hosts
the several applications that run on a computer and handles the operations of computer hardware.
Users and application programs access the services offered by the operating systems, by means
of system calls and application programming interfaces. Users interact with operating systems
through Command Line Interfaces (CLIs) or Graphical User Interfaces known as GUIs. In short,
operating system enables user interaction with computer systems by acting as an interface
between users or application programs and the computer hardware.

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Computer hardware is developed to execute user programs and make solving user problems
easier. An operating system makes a computer more convenient to use It acts as an interface
between user and computer hardware. Therefore, the end-users are not particularly concerned
with the computer¶s architecture, and they view the computer system in terms of an application.
To programmers, it provides some basic utilities to assist him in creating programs, the
management of files, and the control of I/O devices.

 

 
There are different types of operating system.




 
It is a multitasking operating system that aims at executing real-time applications. Real-time
operating systems often use specialized scheduling algorithms so that they can achieve a
deterministic nature of behavior. The main object of real-time operating systems is their quick
and predictable response to events. They either have an event-driven or a time-sharing design.
An event-driven system switches between tasks based of their priorities while time-sharing
operating systems switch tasks based on clock interrupts.
_   


  

 
The operating systems of this type allow a multiple users to access a computer system
concurrently. Time-sharing system can be classified as multi-user systems as they enable a
multiple user access to a computer through the sharing of time. Single-user operating systems, as
opposed to a multi-user operating system, are usable by a single user at a time. Being able to
have multiple accounts on a Windows operating system does not make it a multi-user system.
Rather, only the network administrator is the real user. But for a Unix-like operating system, it is
possible for two users to login at a time and this capability of the OS makes it a multi-user
operating system.


_ 








 
When a single program is allowed to run at a time, the system is grouped under a single-tasking
system, while in case the operating system allows the execution of multiple tasks at one time, it
is classified as a multi-tasking operating system. Multi-tasking can be of two types namely, pre-
emptive or co-operative. In pre-emptive multitasking, the operating system slices the CPU time
and dedicates one slot to each of the programs. Unix-like operating systems such as Solaris and
Linux support pre-emptive multitasking. Cooperative multitasking is achieved by relying on each
process to give time to the other processes in a defined manner. MS Windows prior to Windows
95 used to support cooperative multitasking.

  


 
An operating system that manages a group of independent computers and makes them appear to
be a single computer is known as a distributed operating system. The development of networked
computers that could be linked and communicate with each other, gave rise to distributed
computing. Distributed computations are carried out on more than one machine. When
computers in a group work in cooperation, they make a distributed system.

 
The operating systems designed for being used in embedded computer systems are known as
embedded operating systems. They are designed to operate on small machines like PDAs with
less autonomy. They are able to operate with a limited number of resources. They are very
compact and extremely efficient by design. Windows CE, FreeBSD and Minix 3 are some
examples of embedded operating systems.

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Modern Operating systems generally have following three major goals. Operating systems
generally accomplish these goals by running processes in low privilege and providing service
calls that invoke the operating system kernel in high-privilege state.

-  

    
 

 
The reason for an operation system to exist is to make computers more convenient to use. An
OS aims to wrap the underneath hardware resources and provides services to end users in a
systematic way. These services may be divided into two types: services directly available for end
users through all kinds of I/O devices, such as mouse, keyboard, monitor, printer, and so on; and
services for application programs, which in turn provides services for end users.

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 ‰
 
It is not the OS itself but the hardware that makes all kinds of services possible and available
To application programs. An OS merely exploits the hardware to provide easily accessible
Interfaces. Exploitation means management upon the hardware resources, and thus also im-
poses control upon or manages the entities that use the services so that the resources are used
E·ciently.

È   
 _




 
It does not su·ce to simply consider an operating system an unvariable unit. An OS may
Evolve while time elapses due to the following reasons:

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With hardware technologies development, the OS also needs to upgrade so as to utilize the new
mechanisms introduced by new hardware. For example, Pentium IV extended instruction set of
Pentium III or multimedia applications and internet transmission. An OS designed for the
previous versions of Intel x86 series will have to be upgraded to be able to accommodate these
new instructions.
 Ȉ New Services:
An OS may also expand to include more services in response to user
demand.

Ȉ Fixes:
No software is perfect, and any program may contain more or less bugs or defects,
thus ¿xes should be made from time to time. Microsoft Windows is a vivid example of
this kind.

 !  


 
´ Facilities for program creation
ù Editors, compilers, linkers, debuggers, etc.
´ Program execution
ù Loading in memory, I/O and file initialization.
´ Access to I/O and files
ù Deals with the specifics of I/O and file formats.
´ System access
ù Resolves conflicts for resource contention.
ù Protection in access to resources and data.
´ Error detection and response
ù internal and external hardware errors
´ memory error
´ device failure
ù software errors
´ arithmetic overflow
´ access forbidden memory locations
operating system cannot grant request of application


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2001±2005:c
"#!²Stable, usable, and fast
On October 25, 2001, Windows XP is released with a redesigned look and feel that's centered on
usability and a unified Help and Support services center. It¶s available in 25 languages. From the
mid-1970s until the release of Windows XP, about 1 billion PCs have been shipped worldwide.
For Microsoft, Windows XP will become one of its best-selling products in the coming years.
It¶s both fast and stable. Navigating the Start menu, taskbar, and Control Panel are more
intuitive. Awareness of computer viruses and hackers increases, but fears are to a certain extent
calmed by the online delivery of security updates. Consumers begin to understand warnings
about suspicious attachments and viruses. There¶s more emphasis on Help and Support.
Windows XP Home Edition offers a clean, simplified visual design that makes frequently used
features more accessible. Designed for home use, Windows XP offers such enhancements as the
Network Setup Wizard, Windows Media Player, Windows Movie Maker, and enhanced digital
photo capabilities.
Windows XP Professional brings the solid foundation of Windows 2000to the PC desktop,
enhancing reliability, security, and performance. With a fresh visual
design, Windows XP Professional includes features for business and advanced home computing,
including remote desktop support, an encrypting file system, and system restore and advanced
networking features. Key enhancements for mobile users include wireless 802.1x networking
support, Windows Messenger, and Remote Assistance.
Windows XP has several editions during these years:
÷ Windows XP 64-bit Edition (2001) is the first Microsoft operating system for 64-bit
processors designed for working with large amounts of memory and projects such as movie
special effects, 3D animations, engineering, and scientific programs.
÷ Windows XP Media Center Edition (2002) is made for home computing and entertainment.
We can browse the Internet, watch live television, enjoy digital music and video collections,
and watch DVDs.
÷ Windows XP Tablet PC Edition (2002) realizes the vision of pen-based computing. Tablet
PCs include a digital pen for handwriting recognition and we can use the mouse or
keyboard, too.

2006±2008:c
"$
²Smart on security

Windows Vista is released in 2006 with the strongest security system yet. User Account Control
helps prevent potentially harmful software from making changes to our computer.
In Windows Vista Ultimate, Bit Locker Drive Encryption provides better data protection for our
computer, as laptop sales and security needs increase. Windows Vista also features
enhancements to Windows Media Player as more and more people come to see their PCs as
central locations for digital media. Here you can watch television, view and send photographs,
and edit videos.
Design plays a big role in Windows Vista, and features such as the taskbar and the borders
around windows get a brand new look. Search gets new emphasis and helps people find files on
their PCs faster. Windows Vista introduces new editions that each have a different mix of
features. It's available in 35 languages. The redesigned Start button makes its first appearance
in Windows Vista. More than 1.5 million devices are compatible with Windows Vista at launch.

2009±Today:c
"%and counting
By the late 2000s, the wireless world has arrived. When Windows 7 is released in October 2009,
laptops are outselling desktop PCs and it¶s common to get online at public wireless hotspots like
coffee shops. Wireless networks can be created at the office or at home.
Windows 7 includes many features, such as new ways to work with windows²Snap, Peek, and
Shake. Windows Touch makes its debut, enabling you to use your fingers to browse the web, flip
through photos, and open files and folders. You can stream music, videos, and photos from your
PC to a stereo or TV. By the fall of 2010, Windows 7 is selling seven copies a second²the
fastest-selling operating system in history. Windows 7 is evaluated by 8 million beta testers
worldwide before it's released.

&'#

 
Unix was originally developed in the 1960s and 1970s by a group of AT&T employees at Bell
Labs. Today, Unix systems are split into different branches which have developed over time by
AT&T and by commercial vendors and non-profit organizations. Many variations (usually called
³flavors´) of Unix and Unix-like Operating Systems were released during the dot com boom of
the 1990¶s. The dot com bust caused many of these to consolidate. As a result, of the dozens of
commercial variations of Unix that were developed in the 1980s, only Solaris, HP-UX, and AIX
are still doing relatively well in the market. Of these, Solaris currently holds the highest market
share. A system is termed UNIX only if it fulfills fully with (and is certified by) the Single Unix
Specification (SUS) standards. Similar systems that do not comply fully or are not certified are
termed ³Unix-like´ operating systems. Examples of popular Unix-like systems include Linux
and Xenix. There are different popular UNIX operatin system.

Solaris
Solaris is the UNIX-based operating system of Sun Microsystems with roots in the BSD
operating system family. Up to the version 3.x this operating system was called SunOS, this
name was kept into the internal release information of current Solaris versions. The first version
of SunOS was published in 1982. With the version 4.0 the new product name Solaris was
introduced for SunOS releases as of 1989. The operating system Solaris 2.0 (SunOS 5.0) basing
on the UNIX system V release 4 was published in July 1992.
The installation package of Solaris 8 (SunOS 5.8) is delivered on several CDs which include the
operating system, applications and the documentation. With the Solaris Webstart 3.0 Installer
Solaris can be installed comfortably on a prepared harddisk partition with at least 2 gbyte of free
space. The Installer divides the partition into one boot partition (10 mbyte of size) and the Solaris
System area inclusive swap area.
The Primary boot subsystem VSN 2.0 proceeds after the Installation as a booting manager. After
the booting procedure the CDE or optionally OpenWindow system is available as a GUI. Solaris
fulfils the Open Group Unix98 specification. With the available Solaris Security Toolkit
application it is possible to made specific protection settings for Solaris.

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The first signs of Linux can be traced back as far as the IBM AT compatible PC era around 1991
A.C. A young student at the University of Helsinki, Finland, had an idea: buildng a Unix-like
operating system for IBM compatible PCs. The student, Linus Torwalds, was experimenting
with Minix, a free Unix OS for PCs, developed by Andrew S. Tanenbaum from Amsterdam, The
Netherlands. Linus wanted to develop a Unix OS for his PC that overcame the limitations of
Minix. It just so happened that the PC architecture, for which he developed his new and
improved Unix OS, would evolve into the world¶s most successful line of computers. This
formed the basis for Linux¶s rapidly growing popularity. Linus¶ talent and hard work and the
support from the open source community did the rest.

During the second half of 1991, the unthinkable started to become reality when Linus made
version 0.02 of what would become known as "Linux" ("ë
s' Uni
") available to the open
source community. By 1994 he was ready to release the first stable Linux Kernel (version 1.0) to
the world. Once it was out, it quickly spread, gained power and evolved into a variety of species
("distributions"). Today, there are an estimated 29 Million Linux users; many of them actively
involved in developing software for it and continuing development of the kernel.
One of the reasons of Linux¶s popularity stems from the license under which it was released,
the GNU General Public License. It ensures that the Linux source code is freely available to
everyone, and everyone can contribute to its development. This effectively added thousands of
programmers to the Linux development team. Despite the concern that many cooks may spoil the
soup, it remains a fact that the large number of Linux developers yielded an operating system of
unprecedented efficiency and robustness, with countless freely available software packages for
both business and pleasure.


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The first release by Ubuntu Linux was introduced on 10-20-2004. Ubuntu 4.10 bases on Debian
and contains the gnomes desktop per default. Ubuntu is an African word that is standing
translated in english for humanity. It is free and shared around the world, only the professional
support costs money. There are ported versions for the x86, x86 64 and PowerPC architecture.
New releases shall appear twice a year. The next release in April 2005 was Ubuntu 5.04.
At the beginning of July 2005, the multi-millionaire Mark Shuttleworth founded the Ubuntu
Foundation with an initial budget of 10 million U.S. dollars. This foundation shall guarantee the
long-term development of the distribution and the support, for example the main developers were
hired in fulltime. The Ubuntu 6.10 desktop edition and server edition was ready in October 2006,
Ubuntu 7.04 for desktop and servers appeared in April 2007. In the new version there is a tool
for the migration of Windows settings, the network component and support for multimedia was
improved.
Kubuntu, Edubuntu, Xubuntu and Beatrix are derivative distributions of Ubuntu. Edubuntu was
published for the first time on 13 October 2005, Xubuntu in 2006 and Kubuntu on 24th April
2008 with the version 8.04.
v
 # is based on Ubuntu and also supports Debian and Ubuntu software packages. It was
design objective to manage Linux distribution to be used a compact and simple. This distribution
is a slim Linux system which can started live from CD-ROM and uses less than 190 MByte
storage on this. The version 2005.1 of 01-28-2005 contains the Linux Kernel 2.6.7, the gnomes
desktop 2.8, Open Office, the Firefox browser and other popular application programs. Mid-
2005, the Beatrix distribution of Steven Watsky has been discontinued. 

 
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( $!

The UNIX Operating System is Open Source which means everyone can use it, edit it, and pretty
much do what ever you want with it. Adopt new ideas; create hacks and a whole heap more.
UNIX is basically community orientated. Without the community backing it, it would probably
not be nearly as popular as it is today.

Because UNIX is community oriented, there are many different flavours of UNIX. This basically
means that users take the base of the UNIX kernel and adapt it to their own needs. Mac OS X is
even a flavour of UNIX. Some other flavours include:
 ÷ FreeBSD
÷ Novell
÷ HP/UX
÷ Solaris
÷ Linux
u Red Hat

u Debian

u Ubuntu

u SuSE

On the other hand, Windows is not, it was coded and created by Microsoft. People are not able to
edit it, or change the code in any way.

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The main difference that many people will find is that Windows is purely GUI-based where as
UNIX is mostly know for its text-based GUI, however it does have a GUI like windows. Many
System and Network Administrators prefer to use the command-line in UNIX rather than the
Graphical User Interface as the command-line providers more functionality.

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(  
In Windows, there is a registry which contains system configuration information; files and
folders. In UNIX, everything is a file and folders are called directories. Since everything is a file,
disks and partitions are mounted as directories, devices appears as files in /dev and so are
running processors which appear in /proc.

In Windows, the main folders are C:/Windows, C:/Program Files, C:/Users (for Windows Vista,
7 or C:/Document and Settings for Windows XP). In Unix, the file system layout is very
different.

÷ /boot ± Where the boot image files are stored

÷ /mnt ± The mount points for the partitions
÷ /dev ± Files of all the connected devices (USB, Printers)
÷ /proc ± Dynamic process information
÷ /sys ± Dynamic system configuration information
÷ /var ± Log files and system subdirectories
÷ /tmp& /spool ± Temporary files
÷ /home ± User accounts home directories
÷ /usr& /user/local ± A replicate tree for users and contains administrative tools
÷ /bin & /sbin ± Essential system executable files
÷ /etc ± System configuration files
÷ /share ± Common read only files
÷ /lib & /include ± Shared library files and system development