An operating system is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources
and provides common services for computer programs
How it works?
Operating systems provide a software platform on which other programs, called applications, can
function. .
Types of operating system
Single-Tasking: A single-tasking system can only run one program at a time.
Multi-Tasking: Multi-tasking operating system allows more than one program to be running in
concurrency.
Single-User: Single-user operating systems have no facilities to distinguish users, but may allow
multiple programs to run in tandem.
Multi-User: A multi-user operating system extends the basic concept of multi-tasking with
facilities that identify processes and resources, such as disk space, belonging to multiple users,
and the system permits multiple users to interact with the system at the same time.
Distributed: A distributed operating system manages a group of distinct computers and makes
them appear to be a single computer.
Templated: In an OS, distributed and cloud computing context, templating refers to creating a
single virtual machine image as a guest operating system, then saving it as a tool for multiple
running virtual machines
Embedded: Embedded operating systems are designed to be used in embedded computer
systems.
Real-Time: A real-time operating system is an operating system that guarantees to process events or
data within a certain short amount of time.
Library: A library operating system is one in which the services that a typical operating system
provides, such as networking, are provided in the form of libraries.
Operating system functions
1- It manages the hardware and software resources of the system.
2- It provides a stable, consistent way for applications to deal with the hardware without having to
know all the details of the hardware.
Operating systems developements
Operating system developers have made the Internet the standard method for delivering crucial
operating system updates and bug fixes. Although it's possible to receive these updates via CD or
DVD, it's becoming increasingly less common. In fact, some entire operating systems themselves are
only available through distribution over the Internet. Further, a process called NetBooting has
streamlined the capability to move the working operating system of a standard consumer desktop
computer -- kernel, user interface and all -- off of the machine it controls. This was previously only
possible for experienced power-users on multi-user platforms like UNIX and with a suite of
specialized applications.