Results 1 to 2 of 2

Thread: Operating Systems

  1. #1
    Banned
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Posts
    2,810

    Operating Systems

    |-Operating Systems Explained-|

    Author- Ennis
    Contact- nho@hackermail.com


    part a. Operating Systems Explained
    ______________________________________________

    One of the greatest technological advances of the modern age was the development of the OS or Operating System. They allocate storage for programs and carryout various tasks. They act as an interface between user and computer.
    They must interpet the users commands to the appropiate hardware/software. The OS provides a vital link between us and our hardware, in the first development of microcomputers the OS was contained entirely on ROM [Read Only Memory], however it is too hard to alter whereas modern OS systems can be easily configured by a fairly experianced user.
    Today the most widely used OS is MS-DOS, if you dont know it, well you should as its the OS for the GUI [graphical user interface] many of you are now using Windows.
    Perhaps the more respected Operating System is Unix, developed in 1971 and is the internets main OS.

    As you can guess from the name the OS is the software that operates your PC. However it is not the most basic element of the PC. It is the most basic system many users tend to notice. The OS gives users the ability to give commands. Early OS systems such as MS-DOS, APPLE-DOS and PC-DOS contain the three letters DOS. Why you may ask well, DOS stands for Disc Operating System which is what the OS most basic task is, to control disc access and storage.

    Lets take a look at what is between the general user and the hardware of his/her PC.

    YOU the user
    ..................
    Applications
    ....................
    The Operating System
    ......................
    BIOS
    ........................
    The Hardware
    ...........................

    What can we do with the Operating System
    a. Obtain a list of files on the discs
    b. Find out how much free space is available
    c. Copy files from one device to another
    d. Join together different files
    e. Delete obselete files
    f. Create new files
    g. Select different input/output devices

    So thats the basic introduction the Operating System. Next I hope to post tutorials on the following OS.
    -Windows
    -Unix

    Ennis.

  2. #2
    Hi mom!
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    1,103
    Good post Ennis, keep them coming... In addition, I found this in "Operating Systems Concepts" by S. Galvin, it helped me defining an O.S.

    An operating system is similar to a government. The components of a computer system are its hardware, software, and data. The operating system provides the means for the proper use of these resources in the operation of the computer system. Like a government, the operating system performs no useful function by itself. It simply provides an environment within which other programs can do useful work.

    Operating System Concepts, 5th edition, by Silberschatz Galvin
    John Wiley & Sons, 1999
    ISBN 0-471-36414-2

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •