Explain
the Purpose of an Operating System
What is an operating system?
An operating system is the most
important software that you will have running on your computer. The operating system will sit in between the
BIOS and the application software on your computer to control the use of
hardware items such as your mouse and keyboard and the software on your
computer.
Why is an operating system
needed?
An operating system is needed
because a piece of hardware cannot do anything without instructions so it will
need software that is stored on the operating system to help the hardware do
its job. The operating system will allow
you to send data between the hardware and the application software at very quick
speeds and help speed up vital programs.
How
does it enable machine and peripheral management?
The majority of modern computer
devices are PnP, so the operating system will need to recognise this to be able
to control it. The majority of operating
systems will know come with the correct software to deal with PnP devices that
may be plugged into the computer, this saves the user time as they don’t have
to download different software just to use on or two different peripheral
devices. The operating system will also
help to control the amount of CPU time given to each input and output device so
that the CPU will not have to sit idle for long periods of time. To do this the operating system will have a
lot of RAM so it can do its jobs quickly and get onto the next job as quickly
as possible.
How
does it enable security?
An operating system will keep watch over the computer
system, especially when it comes into close contact with other computer systems
when on the internet try and limit the chances of receiving a virus to very low
and also to try and also to try and keep any personal information that may be
stored on your computer safe. The
operating system needs to monitor the user’s data, connectivity, access to
application software, access to the system configuration and access to the filing
system all at the same time; because of this the operating system will have to
do a lot of different jobs all at the same time and it will need to be able to
handle all these jobs without freezing so that the user of the computer is able
to do whatever needs to be done on the computer quickly.
How
does it enable file management?
The operating system will need to
create and maintain a filing system which is accurate. In this filing system all of the data and the
programs will be steered. The operating
system needs to keep a table of contents which will say where every piece of
data is stored so that if that piece of data needs to be activated the
operating system can do it quickly. The
operating system needs to format and partition drives before they are able to
be used; this is to help prevent any unwanted viruses getting access to the
operating system. Different types of
file management that people can do are to create different folders which you
can store documents in which all are linked to the same thing, this can help a
user find documents they need to access quicker.
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