TOPIC 2

INTRODUCTION TO
OPERATING SYSTEM

Prepared by:
Mrs Rohani Hassan
Tutor OUM October 2009
 INTRODUCTION
 The most important type of system is the operating
system (OS).

 Three main responsibilities of an OS are:

 Performing basic tasks such as recognizing input from
keyboard
 Ensuring the different programs and users running at the
same time do not interfere with each other
 Providing a software platform on top of which other programs
or application software can run

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 2.1 THE CONCEPT OF OPERATING
SYSTEM

 There are 2 types of software – application software and

system software
 Application software is the software used specifically to
solve a particular problem.
 System software is the software used to support the use
of the computer system
 The operating system falls under the category of system
software. The main function of this software is:
 To manage the computer system
 To interact with the user and perform the specific tasks
 To enable user to use computer with ease and comfort.

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 2.2 THE FUNCTION OF AN OPERATING
SYSTEM

 The function of an operating system is responsible for:

 Providing user interface

 Managing the operating system components for optimum use
 Providing safety measures
 Providing control for the occurrence of unexpected incidents

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 2.2.1 Providing User Interface

 User interface is a mechanism that allows users to interact

with any software. For instance, an operating system
provides a graphic interface that uses windows.

 Beside using Windows, some operating systems use the

following interface concept:
 Command driven interface – requires users to type
commands
 Menu driven interface – requires users to choose numbers in
the menu

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 2.2.2 Managing the Computer System
Components

 A computer system consists of several components. Each

component has its own use or importance.
 OS is responsible for managing all components to enables
all the components to be effectively and efficiently used
 OS is responsible for inserting a program into the
appropriate memory space and then taking it out when
the program implementation is complete.
 OS is responsible for spooling concept that are used in the
printer system.
 OS is responsible for handling another resource known as
virtual resource like file system.

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 2.2.3 System Safety
 A computer system frequently faces safety problem.

 The most critical safety issue is related to the file system.

 There are several safety issues faced by the particular

computer system. Among them are:
 To avoid stored information from being accessed or changed
by people who have no right to access them
 To avoid the information store from being erased or deleted
unintentionally.

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 2.2.4 Control of Unexpected
Occurrences

 The implementation of a program can lead to unforeseen

occurrences such as:
 The program tries to carry out instructions that do not exist.
 The program tries to carry out instructions that involve
divided-by-zero calculations.

 If these incidents are not controlled, the computer system

will stop immediately. This situation is termed crash.
This phenomenon is frustrating to users.

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 2.3 TYPES OF OPERATING SYSTEMS

 There are 4 types of an operating systems:

 Single User Operating System
 Multi User Operating System
 Multi Processor Operating System
 Network Operating System

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 2.3.1 Single User Operating System

 A single user operating system is used for a desktop or

notebook.
 This system allows only one user to use the computer at a
given time an it has only one processor for operations.
 Example of this OS:
 DOS
 Windows 95
 Windows NT
 Mac OS
 OS/2
 Pocket Pc
 Palm Top

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 2.3.2 Multi-User Operating System

 This types of system allows many users to share the same

processor at any one time
 It is widely used for big computers such as minicomputers
or mainframe computers, which are always connected to
several terminals.
 Users who use the terminal share the same computer
system.
 In other words, the multi-user OS allows one computer
system to be shared by several users at the same time.

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 2.3.3 Multi-Processor Operating System

 Currently many computer have more than one processor

to perform tasks more efficiently.
 For these various processor to work effectively, we require
a special OS which is called the multi-processor operating
system.

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 2.3.4 Network Operating System

 The network OS is responsible for operating several

computers in a local area network which usually comprises
of several microcomputers.
 The main function of the network operating system is to
allow computers to share resources such as printer and
file server.
 Two example of a network OS are:
 Novell Netware
 Windows NT

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 SUMMARY

 The OS allows user to use the computer system efficiently

and effectively

 OS is also the backbone of a computer in managing the

internal resources of the computer

 The main objective of an OS is enable users to use the

computer with ease and comfort.

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