We want fast and reliable computers; hence, an important task for an operating system is to utilize computer resources in the best possible way.
There are two main goals of an operating system:
• Managing applications and giving applications access to hardware.
• Manage data system resources optimally.
Important tasks for an operating system are to:
1. Manage applications running on the computer.
2. Take care of input and output.
3. Manage communication between software applications and hardware.
4. Manage computer memory.
5. Manage the file system.
6. Manage networking.
7. Take care of the security of the computer system.
8. Provide a user interface for the computer.
The operating system manages applications running on the computer. The operating system starts and stops applications, and provides time for applications in the processor.
An important task for an operating system is to help facilitate communication between applications and hardware, while user applications access the hardware through the operating system.
An operating system is a layer between applications and hardware. A user interacts with an application, the application interacts with the operating system and the operating system communicates with hardware.
Hardware equipment consists of various types and uses different drivers, whereas the operating system takes care of the communication with the hardware. This makes it much easier to create computer programs since programmers do not need to consider communication with different drivers.
Modern operating systems use multitasking, which allows multiple applications to run simultaneously, thereby making it possible to perform more than one action on the computer at approximately the same time. To help achieve this, programs take turns running in the processor. An application executes in a processor for a short time before it must be out of the processor, and another application is loaded into the processor for execution.
Data security is important when using computer technology, particularly for computers attached to a network. The objective of computer security is therefore to provide information and data against unauthorized access, theft, destruction and natural disasters. 32-bit and 64-bit architecture refers to the length of the memory address used by the processor. The 64-bit version of Windows, which handles large amounts of RAM (Random Access Memory), is more effective than a 32-bit system. However, much of today’s software was made during the 32-bit time. To fully benefit from a 64-bit operating system, you must have software optimized for 64-bit processing.
