Operating system

Definition:
An operating system (OS) is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software.

Explanation:
In the past, the operating systems were computer (or device) dependent. An operating system running on one machine could not be run on another different model machine. When a manufacturer introduces a new computer or new model of computer then an operating system has to be developed to operate that machine. The application programs often would not work on the new computer because the applications were designed to work with a specific operating system. Some operating systems ate still device dependent. Now-a-days, operating systems are mostly device (or computer) independent and can be run on computers made by different companies.

Types of Operating systems

Personal computer operating system Network operating system Embedded operating system

Personal computer operating system:

The personal computer operating systems are also called the stand-alone operating systems or single user operating systems that are used to operate personal computers. Examples are:

i) ii)

DOS Windows 9x

DOS:
DOS stands for Disc Operating System. It is a single user operating system used in micro computers. It is a command line interface operating system. Microsoft Corporation developed it for IBM8086 micro processor computers. It is the most popular operating system in micro computers. DOS contains three files; MS DOS.SYS, IO.SYS and COMMAND.COM. The DOS is updated periodically. It has different versions like DOS 3.0, DOS 3.1, DOS 3.2, DOS 3.3, . . . . . . . . . .DOS 5.0 and so on. The most recent version of DOS is 7.0 and DOS 8.0

Windows:
Windows is a popular operating system. It is developed by Microsoft Corporation of USA. This is because; it is referred to as Microsoft Windows. Nowadays, it is most commonly used in personal computers. Windows is a graphical user interface (GUI) operating system. It is very easy to learn and to create and is a user-friendly operating system. It provides the commands and application programs in the form of small pictures called icons. The user gives the commands to the computer by simply clicking the icons with mouse. Like other operating systems, it is also a collection of programs that manage and co-ordinate the overall operations of a computer system. The user interacts with the computer by using input pointing devices such as mouse, trackball, light pen etc. in addition to the keyboard, but the mouse is commonly used as input devices. The application program, in Windows Operating System, is opened with rectangular area on the desktop. This rectangular area is known as window. In Windows Operating System multiple programs can be simultaneously opened in multiple windows. It is because; operating system is referred to as Windows. The user can switch between programs very easily. You can also transfer information from the program to another through copy and past commands.

Windows has different versions such as Windows 3.0, 3.1, 3.11 and Windows 95, 97, 98 and Windows 2000 Professional. The Windows products 3.0, 3.1, 3.11 are operated under DOS operating system. The Windows 95, 97, 98, 2000, XP and 7 are independent operating systems. Nowadays, Windows XP Professional Version is the most popular operating systems used on PCs. Windows XP Professional looks like Windows 2000 Professional but has advanced features than all old versions of Windows. The main difference between the Windows Operating System and DOS is that; Windows is a graphical user interface while DOS is a Command line interface.

Network Operating Systems:

A Network Operating System is an operating system that supports the network. It is typically resides on a server and controls the devices or computers connected to the network. Examples are;

i) ii) iii) iv) v)

Windows NT Server Windows 2000 Server UNIX SOLARIS Novells Netware

Windows NT Server:
It is developed by Microsoft for clients/server networks. The server in the network uses this operating system and the client computer uses Windows NT workstation or some other versions of Windows Operating system.

Windows 2000 Server:

It is an upgraded form of Windows NT Server. It is also used in networking and consists of three products. a) Windows 2000 Server b) Windows 2000 Advanced Server c) Windows 2000 Data Center Server

UNIX:
UNIX is a multiuser and multitasking operating system. It is very popular operating system used in micro computers to supercomputers. It was developed at AT&T laboratories of USA. It was specially developed at AT&T for their own minicomputers. Microsoft company of USA also developed a version of UNIX which is named as XENIX.

SOLARIS:
It is a version of UNIX developed by Sun Microsystems. It is a network operating system designed specifically for E-Commerce applications. It has very advanced security features and is used for online transactions systems. The client computers also use a version of SOLARIS called CDE (Common Desktop Environment).

Novells Netware:
It is network operating system designed for client/server networks. It has two portions as; a) Server portion (resides on network server) b) Client portion (resides of each client computer connected to the network) The server portion of the network operating system controls the devices such as printers, computers connected to the network, as well as manages the files and application software on the server. The client portion establishes the communication between client computer and the server. The client computers also have their own operating systems such as Windows, DOS etc.

Embedded Operating System:

Different special electronic devices are also controlled by operating systems that are stored into a ROM chip. These are called the Embedded Operating Systems. Examples are;

i)

Windows CE

ii) iii)

Pocket PC 2002 Palm operating system

Windows CE:
It is designed for the use in wireless communication devices, smaller computer such as handheld computer, in-vehicle devices etc. Windows CE interface is similar to that of Windows operating system. This operating system also supports multitasking, Internet access, e-mails etc. Many application programs such as MS Word, MS Excel etc. that are developed for this operating system can be run with Windows CE.

Pocket PC 2002:
It is also developed by Microsoft and is used on a specific type of handheld computers called the Pocket PC. It is similar to Windows XP operating system and is used to access Internet, listen to music, and watch a video and to create word processing and spreadsheet documents etc.