OPERATY SYSTEMS

  OPERATY SYSTEMS

An operating system is a set of programs that allows us to manage the memory, disk, information storage media and the different peripherals or resources of our computer, such as the keyboard, the mouse, the printer, the network card, among others.

Peripherals use a driver or controller and are developed by the manufacturers of each computer. There are different operating systems such as Windows, Linux, MAS OS, in their different versions. Phones and tablets also have an operating system.

In the tasks that the system performs in particular, it is responsible for managing the memory of our system and the load of the different programs, for this each program has a priority or hierarchy and depends on it the operation with the resources of our system . longer than a lower priority program.

The operating system is also responsible for running processes. We call the loading of our program into memory a process, if it is not loaded into memory our program “ust doesn't run.

FUNCTIONS OF AN OPERATING SYSTEMS

The operating system is the core of a computer: without this complex software, all other programs cannot function. The tasks that he is in charge of are the most diverse. Some run completely in the background, and many occur in parallel.

Hardware management

This function, one of the most important of the operating system, usually remains in the background, that is, it is hidden from the user. The program manages all the hardware, both input and output. To do this, it uses drivers provided by hardware manufacturers, which are used to receive and forward commands from devices, as well as to transfer its own commands to the hardware. This is how the keyboard, mouse, screen, hard drive, graphics card, and all the other components of a computer work.

Software management

Usually, when you download a program from the Internet, you can choose between several versions for different operating systems on the download page, which shows how the programming of the applications is related to the specifications of the operating system. Computer base systems have interfaces that regulate communication with all applications. In this way, it is possible to assign them memory, allow them to use the processor's resources or execute the actions carried out with the keyboard and the mouse.

File management

If you have written a document, you can print it (for which the program passes the order to the operating system, which in turn passes it to the printer) or you can save it as a file in a folder. The fact of being able to work with a folder structure is only possible thanks to the operating system, since that order does not exist on the hard drive itself.

Rights Management

In certain situations, for example, in the business environment, several people work with the same device. However, not all of them should be able to configure the system. Therefore, modern operating systems allow you to create different users and grant them rights individually. In addition, each account can be protected with a password.

STRUCTURE OF AN OPERATING SYSTEM

The operating system mediates between the hardware and the rest of the software. For the management procedures to work, the operating system has a slightly different structure than most programs. We could say that it is made up of different layers. The core, its most important element, is in the bottom layer, the one farthest from the user interface. Therefore, this program is also loaded first. The kernel is the interface that is in direct contact with the hardware, starting it and transmitting the commands of the programs that are executed.

DIFFERENT OPERATING SYSTEMS

Operating systems can be classified from different points of view. For example, there is an obvious distinction between operating systems for mobile devices and those for desktop and laptop computers. On the other hand, they can also be classified on the basis of the underlying software: a distinction is usually made between Unix-based systems (such as macOS and Linux) and VMS-like operating systems, such as the latest versions of Windows. Earlier versions of Windows are based on DOS. In addition, there are operating systems designed especially for servers. The best known and most widespread operating systems are Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and the various Linux distributions.

Windows

It is probably the most famous operating system on the market and, at over thirty years old, one of the oldest: surely almost everyone has worked with a Windows computer, mainly due to the fact that many of the computers that are market already have the Microsoft product installed. At regular intervals, a new version of this operating system is released. The most current is Windows 10 and, despite what it may seem, it is not the tenth, because the count has been changing over and over again.

MACOS

The computer company Apple also released its first operating system at the same time as Microsoft. Back then, the operating system for the Macintosh series was known simply as System, and from the beginning, it was famous for its graphical user interface. Over time, Apple began marketing the System software under the name of Mac OS X and later called it macOS – adapting it to the nomenclature of iOS, its mobile operating system. One of the special features of macOS is that it is used almost exclusively on Apple hardware.

Linux

The best known alternative to the two great products from Microsoft and Apple is Linux. Although many users have never used this operating system, most have heard of it and have mistakenly labeled it as a more complicated equivalent of Windows. In fact, Linux itself is just the kernel, which is integrated into different distributions. Among the best known are Ubuntu, Debian, openSUSE, Fedora or CentOS.

Android

The other player in the mobile operating system sector is Android, a product developed above all by Google. It is taking a completely different path than Apple, its main competitor. Android is available as free software and therefore offers many customization options and is not limited to a single device manufacturer. Almost all non-Apple smartphones have Android installed today.