OPERATING SYSTEMS

Operating Systems

An operating system is a software program which facilitates the hardware of the computer to operate and communicate with the software of that computer. A computer without an operating system would be of no use. With the development and advancement of computers, there has also been observed a development in the operating systems. The operating systems may be classified on the basis of multiple criteria like the number of users using the computer, number of tasks performed by the computer, and the number of computer parts to run at a time. Following is the catalogue of the different operating systems categorized according to these criteria under specific classes (Deitel, et.al, 2005, pp. 45-60).

Graphical User Interface Operating System- a graphical user interface operating system entails icons and graphics and is widely navigated by employing a computer mouse. According to this criterion, the following operating systems lie under this classification;

Windows CE;

Windows 98; and

System 7.x

Multiuser Operating System - Multiuser operating system permits a number of users to employ the computer simultaneously as well as at varying time intervals. According to this criterion, the following operating systems lie under this classification;

Windows 2000;

Unix; and

Linux

Multiprocessing Operating System - Multiprocessing operating system has a capability of utilizing and supporting multiple computer processors. According to this criterion, the following operating systems lie under this classification;

Windows 2000;

Unix; and

Linux

Multitasking Operating System - Multitasking operating system has a capability of permitting a number of software procedures to run simultaneously. According to this criterion, the following operating systems lie under this classification;

Windows 2000; and

Unix

Multithreading Operating Systems - Multithreading operating systems permit varying parts of a software program to run simultaneously. According to this criterion, the following operating systems lie under this classification;

Windows 2000;

Unix; and

Linux

For the order of accommodating the needs of the users, novel operating systems were produced which permitted a ...