What is OS (Operating System) in Computer? Functions, History & Types

An operating system is basically the software or firmware that you see in your computer system or your smartphone device. Definition wise, An operating system or OS is the firmware or software that supervises and instructs the computer hardware to execute different operations, applications and offers a basic amenity to all the programs stored in the computer system. 

It goes about as a sub-system between PC hardware parts and the client. Each PC framework should have at any rate one working framework to run different projects. Applications like Browsers, MS Office, Notepad Games, and so forth, need some climate to run and play out their undertakings. 

The Operating system’s software comes pre-installed in a computer system or any device (in smartphones the android firmware is also an OS). The OS allows the system’s hardware to establish communicative connections to the system’s software. 

If you also have this doubt, that how about a computer or any other device’s system will run without an OS, or is it really possible for a device to work or perform important functions without an OS. 

So, the answer is absolutely no, a PC or any system just can’t work without an Operating system. The operating system is the major directing body that executes all the essentials functions required for the function of the system and without the OS nothing will work. 

Today in this modern era of technologies and computers no computer can be used without a greatly designed and usable OS (operating system). 

With prior PCs, the client associated with them utilizing an order line interface, which required remembrance of orders. Today, pretty much every PC utilizes a GUI (Graphical User Interface) working framework that is not difficult to utilize and work. 

Other particular classes of working frameworks (unique reason working frameworks), like inserted and continuous frameworks, exist for some applications. Security-centered working frameworks likewise exist. Some working frameworks have low framework necessities (for example light-weight Linux dissemination). Others may have higher framework necessities.

With maximum computers, the running gadget is saved at the primary difficult drive in the computer. Computers running structures also can be hooked up and loaded from an external difficult drive, disc drive, or flash drive.

Functions of an Operating System (OS)

Though there are a number of works done by an OS of a computer, we have jotted down points to make a list of some standard tasks performed by an Operating system of a computer.

An Operating System goes about as a correspondence connect (interface) between the client and PC equipment. The reason for a working framework is to give a stage on which a client can execute programs in a helpful and proficient way. 

  1. Supervising and taking charge of hardware components and the external peripherals with ports etc. 
  2. Acting as a communicative interface between the hardware and software and acting as a management body for the firmware of the system thereby establishing communication for all the lodged applications and programs. 
  3. Controlling the data created by other apps and software of the computer. 
  4. Controlling and fulfilling all the essential security purposes of the system like making use of passcode protection to save the user’s data from getting breached and preventing unofficial websites from examining the computer system.

Screens the overall software’s wellbeing in order to enhance the system’s execution power and general performance. It also records the reaction time between administration solicitations and software’s reaction to having a total perspective on the framework’s wellbeing. This can help improve execution by giving significant data expected to investigate issues and troubleshoot them.

  1. Balancing and coordinating the translators or presenters, compilers, assemblers, and many different sorts of software.
  2. OS continuously works to control and manage the overall working of the system, detects errors and faults and it is greatly effective in controlling any kind of malfunctioning of the computer.  
  3. In a multiprogramming environment, the operating system greatly makes a choice for the order during which processes have access to the processor, and the way much time interval each process has. This function of OS is named process scheduling. An OS performs the subsequent activities for processor management.
  4. An OS does the work of keeping records of the condition of the process where the application which is doing the task is called the traffic controller. Assigning the microprocessor is the example of a processor to process and then disallowing the processor when the process is completed. 

History of Operating System (OS)

  • In the late 1960s, the first version of the Unix OS was developed
  • The first OS built by Microsoft was DOS. It was built in 1981 by purchasing the 86-DOS software from a Seattle company

The first OS (Operating system) was developed during the 1950s, it was called GMOs and it was developed by General Motors especially for the sake of IBM machine 701. 

The R&D team of GM or General motors executed the lap implementation for their first OS just for IBM. During the mid of 1960s, the Operating systems were seen making use of disks. Also during that period of late 1960s, the very first and original variant of the UNIX OS was created. 

Microsoft corporation developed their first Operating System in the year 1981 which was the DOS OS, Microsoft developed this OS by buying the 86-DOS firmware through a Seattle-based organization.    

The current-gen operating system, Windows was first introduced in the year 1985. It was possible to develop such a popular OS by creating a GUI and directly getting it paired with the official operating system of Microsoft the MS-DOS. 

Types of Operating System

There are two basic kinds of Operating systems:

  1. GPOS (General purpose Operating systems)
  2. RTOS (Real-time Operating systems)

Difference between GPOS (General-purpose OS) and RTOS (Real-time OS)

Just like the internet, Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS) has received a tremendous deal of popularity. They are a great deal higher-perfect to be used in embedded structures in place of General Purpose Operating Systems (GPOS), and, in lots of cases, are ways less complicated to paintings with. 

It may be clean to neglect that now no longer anybody is familiar with all the banality and internal expressions which are utilized in regards to a selected technological development, however, they are not as complicated as you may think.

The General Purpose Operating System (GPOS) plays an important role for any computer system or device where it is greatly responsible for controlling every other standard software and applications which are in the installation or already running in the system. Softwares including Windows and macOS are an example of GPOS. 

GPOS is awesome for acting more than one obligation on the equal time, however, troubles with latency and synchronization lead them to much less than best for time-touchy applications.

Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS) are software program structures designed to be used in instances in which era is of that time only, for instance, in related cars. 

Processing time needs to be a long way shorter than in a GPOS, and the execution sample for programs and methods desires to be predictable. usually, it is seen that the RTOS runs on smaller, greater light-weight hardware than GPOS, as large hardware configurations have a tendency to be much less agile. 

In a GPOS, project organizing isn’t usually primarily based totally on which utility or technique has it as its main choice. They are commonly using a fair policy for coverage to dispatch threads and processes. whereas if you look at an  RTOS, on the opposite hand, usually makes use of priority-primarily based totally scheduling. 

The coding of GPOS is not that modular in terms of development whereas the RTOS kernel codes are practically developed for being scalable in nature and for the purpose of making it easy for the programmers and developers to pick kernel elements particularly. 

The GPOS has a quite high-precedence thread that can not occupy a kernel call. Whereas if you look in an RTOS,  there is the availability of a low-precedence task that might be preempted through a high-priority one if necessary, despite the fact that it will directly work to execute a kernel call.

Popular Types of OS

  1. Batch Operating System (Payroll System, Bank Statements, etc.)
  2. Multitasking/Time-Sharing OS
  3. Multiprocessing OS (Windows NT, 2000, XP, and Unix)
  4. Real-Time OS (eCos, LynxOS, QNX, RTAI, RTLinux, Symbian OS, VxWorks, Windows CE, MontaVista Linux, etc)
  5. Distributed OS (LOCUS, etc)
  6. Network OS (Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Mac OS X, Novell NetWare, and BSD, etc)
  7. Mobile Operating System (Android, iOS, Symbian, kaiOS, etc)
Computerbin
As the founder and owner of this website, I am an enthusiastic computer software and hardware enthusiast who takes pleasure in troubleshooting and solving computer-related problems. With MTech & BTech degrees in Computer Science & Engineering under my belt, I have worked in this field for over 12 years now. Through my career I have acquired a vast amount of knowledge regarding various computer topics such as software, hardware, and programming - knowledge which I love sharing with others to help people gain more insight into this exciting world of computers!