Introduction
An OS (Operating System) is essentially a piece of software, which allows other software to run upon it, acting as a bridge between the user and the hardware.
The OS provides an API (Application Programming Interface) which allows software to interact with the hardware.
Here is a very non exhaustive list of common OSs
- Windows
- MacOS
- Linux
- Android
- ChromeOS
- iOS
Functions
The OS has many things that it can do, such as:
UI
The OS can provide a visual, such as a GUI display, or a CLI (Command Line Interface)
Management
The OS is also responsible for the following
- Memory management (paging, segmentation, virtual memory)
- Resource management (scheduling)
- File management (moving, editing, deleting files and folders)
- Input/ Output management (device drivers)
- Interrupt management
- Utility software (disk defragmenter, backup, formatting etc.)
- Security (firewall)
- User interface