Types of Operating Systems

           Operating system can be broadly classified into two categories based on the type of interface provided to the user. Command Line Interface          In these types of operating systems the user can enter commands through the keyboard and each command will perform a specific action. But this type of interface is very difficult for a beginner to use, because the commands have to be remembered.           MS-DOS is such a Operating System. Dos stands for Disk Operating system. It was developed by Microsoft as an operating system in the 1980s. Windows 3x needed DOS to run, but the later versions...

Read more »

Operating System

         An Operating System or OS is a software program that enables the computer hardware to communicate and operate with the computer software. Without an Operating System, a computer would be useless. Features Expected of an Operating System To Startup and Shutdown the computer.  To act as an interface between the user and the hardware. To perform house keeping tasks such as file handling, disk/ memory management. To be able to allow the user to configure the system. This includes changing the types of printers, adding new hardware (such as sound cards), etc. ...

Read more »

System Software

Software           Software refers to instructions which are used by  the computer to perform various tasks. The word programme is synonymous with software. Software is created with programming languages and related utilities. Software is generally classified into two types: System Software and Application Software. System Software           System software is responsible for controlling, integrating and managing the individual hardware components of a computer system so that other software and the users of the system see it as a functional unit without having to be concerned with the low-level details of the computer hardware. System software can be further classified as: Operating Systems. Utilities...

Read more »

Components of a Computer System

                  By considering the functions performed by various components, a computer can be represented as a collection of logical components as in Figure 1.3. The main hardware components of a modern computer system are the central processing unit (CPU), the main memory, the secondary storage and the In put-Out put devices.   System Unit                   The system unit, or the cabinet houses most of the essential components of the computer system such as the power supply, the motherboard, the CPU chip, specialized chips, the system clock, RAM,...

Read more »