Operating Systems Explained
Operating systems like Windows, Unix or Mac OS X are widely used and known but many users fail to be able to explain what an operating system actually does. Put simply, an operating system is the core software part that brings the computer hardware and software together.
The kind of operating system a computer uses is dependent on what kind of computer it is and what it is going to be used for. Most computers come pre-loaded with the operating system when you purchase them. Personal computers usually come pre-loaded with Windows, Apple computers usually are pre-loaded with the Macintosh operating system and servers use such operating systems as Linux and UNIX however there are hundreds of operating systems available if you have specific needs for them.
Not only computers make use of operating systems. They come in many electronic devices like cell phones, video game consoles and even in high tech fridges and coffee machines.
The operating system has control over all the functions of the computer and manages how software programs work and their communication and interactions with each other. The operating system is responsible for making sure everything runs smoothly during the operation of your computer and that the programs that are running do not interfere with each other.
The operating system manages all the computer’s hardware by loading so called drivers which are used to interact with the hardware.
The software programs that run on the operating system receive the hardware information from it without having to use their own functions to interact with the hardware directly. All hardware of the computer is managed by the operating system.
As the central component of a computer system the operating system manages data transfer between hardware and software. Pressing a key on the keyboard is for instance directed to several hardware components like the processor and video card so that the result can be outputted on the computer screen.
Security is another part of any operating system. They are usually making use of so called computer profiles which are associated with one user or a user group. Authorization can take place locally but also over a computer network or the Internet. Users and user group can have different authorization levels enabling or permitting them from using certain functions and features of the operating system.