Describing Windows Operating System

            

        Without an operating system, a computer would be rendered unusable. A computer may have several types of software, but it requires operating system (OS) to run these applications. The operating system allows the software and hardware to communicate with each other in order to display the output in the brain of a computer which manages all system resources and co-ordinates all ongoing activities inside the computer.

            In this session, we will explore the basic concepts of an operating system. In addition, we will discuss about user interface, editions, minimum system requirements, and features and limitations of windows vista, windows 7, and windows 8/8.1. We will also explore common features of all (windows vista, windows 7, and windows 8/8.1) operating system. Finally, we will discuss about upgrade paths and compatibility tools of these operating systems. 

            A computer system has two basic components: hardware and software. An operating system is the fundamental software component, whose inherent function is to control and manage the operations of computer programs and related hardware resources.

Before discussing the basic concepts of an operating system, one must have prior knowledge of operating system. This section briefly outlines software components followed by fundamental concepts of operating system and contemporary operating systems.

Software Components

              A program is a set of instructions given to a computer for performing a specific task. In computing, performing a task means executing a program to achieve a desired target. Before executing a program, it must be translated from source language to machine language. Thereafter, it must be linked and loaded into the main memory.                                  

            Group of programs responsible for performing computations along with controlling, managing and carrying out important jobs is collectively referred to as software components, or simply software. These are categorized into system software and application software.

            System Software is a software that works and functions along with the hardware and programming tools to monitor the status of a computer system. There are mainly two types of system software: operating system and the software installed with the operating system. Software installed with an operating system is called utility that can be accessed from Control Panel. Control panel is designed to focus on computer-centric tasks such as optimization and regulation of the computer performance. Utility software is not a part of the operating system, even though a basic set of such software are preinstalled in an operating system. To operate and function in a proper manner, you need these two Interdependent features, i.e. operating system and utility programs. Operating system is the most prominent part of the system software as it directly controls and manages the hardware resources of the computer besides providing common services to all the application software/programs for their proper functioning. Common examples of operating system are Linux, UNIX, Windows and Mac OS. 

             On the contrary, application software is designed exclusively for the benefit of the users and unlike system software, are not responsible for the functioning Of running of a computer. It contains programs that address specific problems for users, such as word processors, spreadsheets and more. Application software Is designed by individuals and organizations In response to specific problems or tasks. System software includes a set of in built application programs that are more often published separately.                                                                                                                                                                The session focuses solely on operating system; let us therefore discuss the basic concepts of operating systems in the following sub section. 

Fundamental Concepts of Operating System

             An Operating System PSI Is system software that regulates the entire set of operations on the computer and provides the users with a wide range of services.

            A user needs certain set of services for facilitating effective functioning of the computer system and execute various application software to carry out specialized functions. Operating system, therefore is a must-have and an indispensable utility required by the computer to run programs. For instance, when a user application needs to store information, the required memory is provided by the operating system.

            Operating system functions as a resource allocator for allocating the required resources. Resources can be external or internal In nature. You can consider; memory, input device, output device, and so on, as examples.

The purpose of the operating system is to:

·                      Provide a convenient, user-friendly, and customizable set of services.

·                      Manage the computer resources efficiently and judiciously.

The services provided by an operating system include memory management, process management, device management, file management, and network management as well as protection and security related services.

    Figure illustrates the communication of users and programmers with operating system.

Operating system generally supports two basic modes of operation: (a) user mode (bb) kernel mode, also called supervisor, private or protected mode. User processes are executed in the user mode whereas operating system execute only in kernel mode.

Now that you've learnt about the need and importance of an operating system, let us discuss various types of interactions between the user and an operating system.

Levels of Interfaces 

Communication with operating system is established through an interface. There are three levels of interfaces by users and programmers to communicate with operation system:

• Graphical User Interface (GUI)
• Command Lie Interface (CLI)
• System-call interface

Figure shows interfaces provided by operating system.

In figure, all levels of interfaces lie above the kernel. The top level is Graphical User Interface (GUI), which facilitates interaction of users with operating system through impulsive icons, menus, and various graphical objects such as Windows desktop. here, the user remains completely disconnected from the operational activities of the latent system. GUI operates as am add-on component of the operating system.

The next level of interface is the command line interface (also termed as shell), which is a text based interface used directly by the programmers to facilitate communication with the operating system.

The third level of interface is the system call interface used by the application programs to request the operating system for service(s) by calling system functions.

let us discuss in new topic contemporary operating systems.

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