This is a short article helping the average computer user understand what an operating system is.
Every computer must have an operating system. Without one your computer is pretty much useless. The operating system is like your computer’s manager. It is the program that manages all the other programs on your computer. The operating system performs the following tasks in addition to many others:
When several programs are open it determines which programs should run and in what order.
It determines the amount of time each program should get.
It manages the sharing of memory among the many programs on your computer.
It handles input and output.
It sends messages to both the program and the user concerning the status of operations and any errors that may have occurred.
The list of responsibilities the operating system has is much longer than the one above. The main thing you need to know is that you cannot use your computer if you don’t have an operating system. Fortunately, the system works in the background and most of the time you will not be aware of what it is doing.
As we continue throughout the textbook you will learn and appreciate more about what an operating system is and what it can do. Back in the early days of computers when there was no such thing as an operating system a computer user could only run one program at a time. Each time they wanted to use the program they had to load one they had written and if something went wrong during the process the user would have to start all over from the beginning. This is because there was nothing within the computer to manage it the way an operating system does today.
When several programs are open it determines which programs should run and in what order.
It determines the amount of time each program should get.
It manages the sharing of memory among the many programs on your computer.
It handles input and output.
It sends messages to both the program and the user concerning the status of operations and any errors that may have occurred.
The list of responsibilities the operating system has is much longer than the one above. The main thing you need to know is that you cannot use your computer if you don’t have an operating system. Fortunately, the system works in the background and most of the time you will not be aware of what it is doing.
As we continue throughout the textbook you will learn and appreciate more about what an operating system is and what it can do. Back in the early days of computers when there was no such thing as an operating system a computer user could only run one program at a time. Each time they wanted to use the program they had to load one they had written and if something went wrong during the process the user would have to start all over from the beginning. This is because there was nothing within the computer to manage it the way an operating system does today.
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