What is an Operating System? Defination, types, and features

Operating System Overview

In today’s digital world, electronic devices like computers, smartphones, tablets, and smart gadgets rely on operating systems. These systems are like the brains of our gadgets, interpreting our commands and making things happen. They’re the bridge between us and our devices, making modern tech possible.

This blog will explore operating systems and their types, functions, features, and components. We’ll also review the programs to help you understand operating systems more.

What is the Operating system?

An operating system (OS) is software that runs on a computer. It manages all other applications and programs in a computer, and a boot program loads it into the computer. The OS enables applications to interact with a computer’s hardware.

Application programs request services from the operating system through a designated application program interface (API). The kernel is the software that contains the operating system’s core components. Every computer must have at least one operating system installed to run other programs.

Windows, Linux, and Android are operating systems. They let you use programs like MS Office, Notepad, and games on your computer or phone. You also need an operating system on your computer to run basic programs like internet browsers.

Functions of Operating System

Operating systems (OS) perform several essential functions to ensure computers and devices run smoothly:

Memory Management: The OS allocates and deallocates memory as needed for various programs, ensuring they can run simultaneously without interference.
Processor Management: It manages the CPU’s time and resources, choosing which processes get CPU time and optimizing processor use.
Device Management: The operating system handles connections to input and output devices using device drivers. It assigns devices to processes and tracks their status.
File Management: The Operating System does jobs like making, deleting, moving, and saving files while keeping them safe.
Storage Management: The OS accesses and organizes files and directories, optimizes storage device use, and ensures efficient data retrieval.
Security: OSs use firewalls and other security measures to prevent unauthorized access and monitor system activities to block threats.
Performance Monitoring: The OS tracks all system activities, including resource usage and errors, to ensure the system operates efficiently.
Error Detection: It continuously scans for errors and threats, protecting the system and alerting users to potential problems.
Software and User Coordination: The OS ensures that hardware and software work together smoothly for optimal user interaction.

Modern operating systems also include advanced features such as:

Virtualization Support: They allow multiple virtual machines to operate on a single physical machine, optimizing resource use.
Cloud Integration: OSs now seamlessly connect to cloud services, allowing for easy data synchronization and backup across devices.
Energy Management: Especially important in mobile devices, OSs manage hardware resource use and background processes to extend battery life.
Advanced Security: Features like biometric authentication, encryption, and continuous security updates help protect against new threats.
Automated Updates: Operating systems can update and maintain themselves, keeping systems secure and up-to-date without manual effort.
IoT Support: Operating Systems manage various Internet of Things devices and their interactions.
AI and Machine Learning: Modern OSs incorporate AI and machine learning for better analytics, personalization, and user engagement.

These capabilities highlight how operating systems continuously evolve to meet new technological needs and enhance user experiences.

Features of Operating Systems

Here are some key features of operating systems, explained in detail:

Process Management

Functionality: An operating system (OS) handles programs running on a computer by managing processes. It controls when processes start, stop, and work together.
Details: The OS uses various scheduling algorithms (like Round Robin, First-Come-First-Served, etc.) to decide the order in which processes access the CPU. It also handles deadlocks, which occur when processes block each other by competing for resources.

Memory Management

Functionality: The OS manages allocating and deallocating memory space to processes. It ensures that a program runs within its allocated memory and does not interfere with other programs.
Details: The Operating System use techniques like paging and segmentation to manage memory efficiently. It also includes virtual memory features, allowing the system to use disk storage as an extension of RAM. It effectively increases the amount of memory available.

File Management

Functionality: The OS handles data storage, retrieval, and organization on storage devices. It manages file systems and directories and maintains security and access permissions.
Details: File systems (like NTFS, ext4, or FAT32) provide a structure for storing and organizing files. The OS handles operations like reading, writing, creating, and deleting files.

Device Management

Functionality: The OS manages device communication via their respective drivers. It controls the operation of input/output devices like keyboards, mice, disk drives, printers, and monitors.
Details: The OS uses a device driver interface to interact with hardware via device-specific drivers. It handles tasks like sending data to printers, reading from disks, and displaying information on the screen.

Security and Access Control

Functionality: Operating systems ensure that all access to system resources is secure. They manage the security protocols that defend against unauthorized access to data.
Details: The OS implements user authentication mechanisms and manages user permissions to ensure that only authorized users can access specific resources or data. It also includes tools for encryption and secure data deletion.

Networking

Functionality: The OS manages the data exchange over network connections between computers and other devices.
Details: Through the network stack that includes protocols like TCP/IP, the OS handles networking tasks such as routing, connectivity, and ensuring data integrity across networks.

User Interface

Functionality: OS provides interfaces through which users interact with hardware and software. These can be graphical user interfaces (GUIs) or command-line interfaces (CLIs).
Details: GUIs, like those found in Windows, macOS, or various Linux distributions, provide a visual way to interact with the computer, whereas CLIs, like Unix/Linux terminals or Windows Command Prompt, allow users to perform tasks via text commands.

Multitasking

Functionality: The OS allows multiple software processes to run simultaneously on one processor.
Details: Multiple processes receive CPU time in turns through techniques like time-sharing, resulting in the illusion of simultaneous execution.

System Performance Monitoring

Functionality: The OS monitors system performance and provides insights into using resources like CPU, memory, and storage.
Details: Tools and utilities within the OS can show which processes use the most resources, helping diagnose system slowdowns or problems.

Advantages of Operating System

There are several advantages of operating systems. We have listed some of them below:

Ensuring correct and efficient use of the computer’s hardware.
Allowing different applications to run concurrently.
Managing files and folders.
Providing a user interface.
Managing security.
Managing resources.
Managing printing.
Providing a platform for software development.

Operating System Types

The operating systems (OS) types have evolved significantly, adapting to technological advancements and changing user needs. Here’s a summary of various kinds of operating systems:

Batch OS: These systems run a series of jobs without requiring manual help. While they’re still useful in some cases, modern computing mostly uses more interactive, real-time systems.
Distributed OS: These manage many connected computers, spreading the work between them. They’re becoming more important with cloud and edge computing, efficiently handling big, spread-out apps.
Multitasking OS: These let you do many things at once, and they’re constantly improving. Today’s multitasking OSs are good at giving resources to different tasks, making everything run smoothly even with many apps open.
Network OS: These manage groups of networked computers, letting them share stuff like files and printers. With cloud services getting more popular, network OSs are adding cloud features for better sharing and connecting.
Real-Time OS (RTOS): RTOSs are vital when things have to happen quickly, like in robots or IoT devices.
Mobile OS: Mobile operating systems have improved, especially with cloud stuff, security, and appearance. Now, they’re focusing on making everything work across different gadgets so users get the same experience everywhere.
IoT Integration: Modern OSs are improving at managing many IoT gadgets. They’re taking charge of these gadgets, offering one way to control them all.
AR/VR Support: In the future, Operating Systems will be great for AR/VR stuff, with cool graphics, tracking, and sound.
Enhanced Security and Privacy: With more online dangers, Operating systems are getting stronger security and privacy features. This means better ways to keep stuff safe and private.
Cross-Platform Compatibility: OSs are getting better at working well across different gadgets and platforms. They’re making it easier to use the same stuff on different devices, like storing things in the cloud and using apps everywhere.
Edge Computing and Distributed Systems: Operating systems are changing to handle resources in spread-out setups like edge computing as computing moves beyond regular data centers. This means apps aim to be faster and more responsive in this environment.
Machine Learning and Predictive Capabilities: Operating systems increasingly leverage machine learning for predictive analytics and optimization. This includes intelligent power management and personalized user experiences.

Components of Operating System

Shell
Kernel

What is Shell?

Shell handles user interactions. It is the outermost layer of the OS and manages the interaction between user and operating system by:

Prompting the user to give input
Interpreting the input for the operating system
Handling the output from the operating system.

Shell provides a way to communicate with the OS by taking input from the user or the shell script. A shell script stores a sequence of system commands in a file.

What is Kernel?

The kernel is the core component of a computer’s operating system (OS). All other OS components rely on the core for essential services. The kernel serves as the primary interface between the OS and the hardware and aids in device control, networking, file systems, and process and memory management.

KERNEL

Functions of kernel

The kernel is a key part of an operating system. It acts as a bridge between the applications you use and the computer’s hardware.

When you start a computer, the kernel is the first part of the operating system to load into memory. It stays there until you turn off the computer. The kernel helps manage the computer’s resources, like memory and processing power, so that other programs can run smoothly.

It sets up how applications use the memory, loads application files into memory, and prepares the execution stack for programs. This helps programs to start and run properly.

The kernel is responsible for performing the following tasks:

Input-Output management
Memory Management
Process Management for application execution.
Device Management
System calls control

Earlier, a single module in the kernel space combined all essential system services like managing processes and memory, handling interrupts, managing processes and memory, etc. People called this type of kernel a Monolithic Kernel. The problem with this approach was that even a small change required recompiling the entire kernel.

In a modern-day approach to monolithic architecture, a microkernel contains different modules like device management, file management, etc. It loads and unloads dynamically. This modern-day approach reduces the kernel code size and increases its stability.

Types of Kernel

Linus Torvalds introduced the concept of a monolithic kernel in 1991 as a part of the Linux kernel. A monolithic kernel is an extensive program containing all operating system components. However, the Linux kernel evolved over the years and now consists of different types of kernels, as listed below.

Monolithic Kernel: A monolithic kernel is a single large program that contains all operating system components. The kernel executes in the processor’s privileged mode and provides full access to the system’s hardware. Monolithic kernels are faster than microkernels because they don’t have the overhead of message passing. Embedded systems and real-time operating systems generally use this type of kernel.
Microkernel: A microkernel has only the most important parts for the operating system. We remove all other components from the kernel and implement them as user-space processes. The microkernel approach provides better modularity, flexibility, and extensibility. It is also more stable and secure than monolithic kernels.
Hybrid Kernel: A hybrid kernel combines the best features of monolithic kernels and microkernels. It contains a small microkernel that provides the essential components for the OS’s basic functioning. We implement the remaining components as user-space processes or loadable kernel modules. This approach provides the best of both worlds, namely, monolithic kernels’ performance and microkernels’ modularity.
Exokernel: An exokernel provides the bare minimum components required for the operating system’s basic functioning. User-space processes implement all other components after removing them from the kernel. The exokernel approach provides the best possible performance without kernel overhead.

However, it also requires significant implementation challenges and lacks widespread usage.

Popular Operating Systems

Some of the most popular operating systems in use today include:

Windows: Windows is the most popular desktop operating system, used by over 1 billion users worldwide. It has a wide range of features and applications, including the Office suite, gaming, and productivity tools.
macOS: macOS is the desktop operating system used by Apple Mac computers. Users appreciate its clean, user-friendly interface, making it popular among creative professionals.
Linux: Linux is an open-source operating system. It is available for free, and users can customize it to meet their specific needs. Developers, businesses, and individuals who prefer an open-source, customizable operating system use it.
iOS: iOS is the mobile operating system used by Apple iPhones and iPads. Its reputation arises from its user-friendly interface, close integration with Apple’s hardware and software, and robust security features.
Android: Android is the most popular mobile operating system, used by over 2 billion users worldwide. Its reputation stems from its open-source nature, which offers customization options and compatibility with a wide range of devices.

Source

Choosing the Right Operating System

When choosing an operating system, there are several factors to consider, including:

Cost: Some operating systems, like Linux, offer free access, while others, such as Windows and macOS, require purchasing.
Compatibility: Choosing an operating system that works with your software and hardware is important.
Ease of use: macOS and iOS have easy-to-use interfaces, while Linux may take longer to learn.
Security: macOS and iOS offer strong security, but Windows may have more vulnerabilities.

Operating System Generations

Operating systems have evolved through different generations, each marked by distinct characteristics and advancements. Let’s explore these generations along with real-time examples:

First Generation:

Time Period: 1940s to early 1950s
Characteristics: Vacuum tubes and machine language programming.
Example: ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) – One of the earliest computers that used vacuum tubes for calculations.

Second Generation:

Time Period: Late 1950s to mid-1960s
Characteristics: Transistors and assembly language programming.
Example: IBM 1401 – Used transistors, enabling faster and more reliable processing than vacuum tubes.

Third Generation:

Time Period: Mid-1960s to mid-1970s
Characteristics: Integrated circuits (ICs) and high-level programming languages.
Example: IBM System/360 – Introduced a family of computers using compatible software and peripheral devices.

Fourth Generation:

Time Period: Late 1970s to 1990s
Characteristics: Microprocessors, personal computers, and graphical user interfaces (GUI).
Example: Apple Macintosh – Introduced GUI and mouse-driven interface, making computers more user-friendly.

Fifth Generation:

Time Period: 1990s to present (continuing)
Characteristics: Artificial Intelligence (AI), natural language processing, and parallel processing.
Example: IBM’s Deep Blue defeated world chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1997, showing the power of AI in complex decision-making.

Sixth Generation (Speculative):

Characteristics: Advanced AI, quantum computing, brain-computer interfaces.
Example: Companies like IBM and Google are developing quantum computers, which have the potential to revolutionize complex calculations.

Future Generations (Hypothetical):

Characteristics: Even more advanced AI, integration with human cognition, and new computing paradigms.
Example: A future generation could involve computers that seamlessly interface with the human brain, enabling direct thought-based interactions.

These generations demonstrate how operating systems have evolved from basic machine-level instructions to sophisticated systems that handle complex tasks and user interactions. Each generation builds upon the achievements of the previous one, incorporating new technologies and capabilities.

How to Check the Operating System?

Checking your computer’s operating system depends on the OS you are using. Here are the methods for the most commonly used operating systems:

Windows

Using the ‘About’ System Settings
Press the Windows key + I to open Settings.
Go to System and then click on About.
Here, you will find the Edition, Version, and System type of the Windows operating system installed on your computer.
Using the Command Prompt
Press the Windows key + R, type cmd, and press Enter.
In the command prompt, type system info, and press Enter.
The output will provide detailed information including the OS version.

macOS

Using the About This Mac Menu
Click on the Apple menu in the top-left corner of your screen.
Select About This Mac.
A window showing your macOS version, processor, memory, and more will appear.

Linux

Using the Terminal
Open your terminal.
To find out the distribution and version, you can enter one of the following commands:
cat /etc/*release (this command shows the release and version of the installed Linux distribution)
lsb_release -a (this command requires the lsb-release package installed and shows the LSB (Linux Standard Base) information of the distribution)
For the kernel version, type uname -r in the terminal.

Chrome OS

Using the Settings Page
Click on the status area where your account picture appears.
Click on the Settings gear icon.
Scroll down to the “About Chrome OS” at the bottom of the left panel.
Here you’ll see the version of Chrome OS you’re using.

iOS (iPadOS)

Using the Settings App
Open the Settings app.
Tap on General, then About.
Here, you will see the iOS version installed on your device.

Android

Using the Settings App
Open the Settings app.
Scroll down to About Phone or About Device.
Tap on it to find the Android version and other details, like the model number.

Conclusion

With the evolution and extensive growth of technology, the job market will have efficient operating systems. The younger generation will prioritize a good operating system at their workplace to have a smooth experience. If you are planning to get a degree in IT, now is the best time to start.

Operating System FAQs

What is an Operating System?

An operating system (OS) controls all other application programs in a computer after being installed first by a boot program. The application programs seek services from the operating system (API) through a specified application program interface.

What is an operating system and example?

An operating system facilitates communication between a user and a system. Operating systems include Microsoft Office, Notepad, and gaming on a computer or mobile device, including Windows, Linux, and Android.

What are the 5 operating system types?

Types of Operating Systems are

Batch Operating System.
Time-Sharing Operating System.
Distributed Operating System.
Embedded Operating System.
Real-time Operating System.

What is the importance of an operating system?

The operating system is the most crucial software that runs on a computer. It controls the computer’s memory, operations, software, and hardware. Using this method, you can converse with the computer even if you don’t understand its language.

What is OS structure?

An operating system design enables user application programs to communicate with the machine’s hardware. To build a complicated structure that ensures a smooth experience, one must exercise utmost care when creating an operating system. Partially developing the operating system is a simple approach to accomplish this.

What is the process in OS?

In computing, one or more threads run an instance of a computer program, an OS process. An OS process includes the programme code and all of its operations. Depending on the operating system (OS), a process may consist of several concurrently running threads of execution.