Yes
we do
install
operating systems - upgrades.
Configure firmware routers and wireless computer systems and computer connections.
The operating
system defines our computing experience. It's the first software we
see when we turn on the computer, and the last software we see when
the computer is turned off. It's the software that enables all the
programs we use. The operating system organizes and controls the
hardware on our desks and in our hands, yet most users can't say with
any certainty precisely what it is that the operating system does.
It's
important to realize that not all computers have operating systems.
For a computer like this, an operating system would be unnecessary
baggage, adding complexity where none is required. Instead, the
computer in a microwave oven simply runs a single program all the
time.
For computer
systems that go beyond the complexity of the microwave, however, an
operating system can be the key to greater operating efficiency and
easier application development. All desktop
computers have operating systems. The most common are the Windows
family of operating systems, the UNIX
family of operating systems and the Macintosh
operating systems. There are hundreds of other operating systems
available for special-purpose applications, including specializations
for mainframes, robotics, manufacturing, real-time control systems and
so on.
At the
simplest level, an operating system does two things:
- It manages
the hardware and software resources of the computer system. These
resources include such things as the processor, memory, disk
space, etc.
- It
provides a stable, consistent way for applications to deal with
the hardware without having to know all the details of the
hardware.
The first task, managing
the hardware and software resources, is very important, as various
programs
and input methods compete for the attention of the central
processing unit (CPU) and demand memory, storage and input/output
(I/O) bandwidth for their own purposes. In this capacity, the
operating system plays the role of the good parent, making sure that
each application gets the necessary resources while playing nicely
with all the other applications, as well as husbanding the limited
capacity of the system to the greatest good of all the users and
applications.
The second
task, providing a consistent application interface, is
especially important if there is to be more than one of a particular
type of computer using the operating system, or if the hardware making
up the computer is ever open to change. A consistent application
program interface (API) allows a software developer to write an
application on one computer and have a high level of confidence that
it will run on another computer of the same type, even if the amount
of memory or the quantity of storage is different on the two machines.
Even if a particular computer is unique, an operating system can
ensure that applications continue to run when hardware upgrades and
updates occur, because the operating system and not the application is
charged with managing the hardware and the distribution of its
resources. Windows 98 is a great example of the flexibility an
operating system provides. Windows 98 runs on hardware from thousands
of vendors. It can accommodate thousands of different printers, disk drives
and special peripherals in any possible combination.
Within the
broad family of operating systems, there are generally four types,
categorized based on the types of computers they control and the sort
of applications they support. The broad categories are:
- Real-time
operating system (RTOS) - Real-time operating systems are used
to control machinery, scientific instruments and industrial
systems. An RTOS typically has very little user-interface
capability, and no end-user utilities, since the system will be a
"sealed box" when delivered for use. A very important
part of an RTOS is managing the resources of the computer so that
a particular operation executes in precisely the same amount of
time every time it occurs. In a complex machine, having a part
move more quickly just because system resources are available may
be just as catastrophic as having it not move at all because the
system is busy.
- Single-user,
single task - As the name implies, this operating system is
designed to manage the computer so that one user can effectively
do one thing at a time. The Palm OS for Palm handheld
computers is a good example of a modern single-user,
single-task operating system.
- Single-user,
multi-tasking - This is the type of operating system most
people use on their desktop
and laptop
computers today. Windows 98 and the MacOS are both examples of an
operating system that will let a single user have several programs
in operation at the same time. For example, it's entirely possible
for a Windows user to be writing a note in a word processor while
downloading a file from the Internet while printing the text of an
e-mail
message.
- Multi-user
- A multi-user operating system allows many different users to
take advantage of the computer's resources simultaneously. The
operating system must make sure that the requirements of the
various users are balanced, and that each of the programs they
are using has sufficient and separate resources so that a
problem with one user doesn't affect the entire community of
users. Unix, VMS, and mainframe operating systems, such as MVS,
are examples of multi-user operating systems.
It's
important to differentiate here between multi-user operating
systems and single-user operating systems that support networking.
Windows 2000 and Novell Netware can each support hundreds or
thousands of networked users, but the operating systems themselves
aren't true multi-user operating systems. The system administrator
is the only "user" for Windows 2000 or Netware. The
network support and all of the remote user logins the network
enables are, in the overall plan of the operating system, a
program being run by the administrative user.
When an
operating system manages the computer's memory, there are two broad
tasks to be accomplished:
- Each
process must have enough memory in which to execute, and it can
neither run into the memory space of another process nor be run
into by another process.
- The
different types of memory in the system must be used properly so
that each process can run most effectively.
The first task
requires the operating system to set up memory boundaries for
types of software and for individual applications.
The operating
system's tasks, in the most general sense, fall into six categories:
- Processor
management
- Memory
management
- Device
management
- Storage
management
- Application
interface
- User
interface
Operating system should do more than these six
tasks, and some operating-system vendors do build many more utility
programs and auxiliary functions into their operating systems, these
six tasks define the core of nearly all operating systems.
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