1.6 OPERATING SYSTEM

 All computers need some sort of hardware platform to run the software; these platforms are called Operating System (OS). Operating system is a program that acts as an interface between user of computer and the computer hardware. The purpose of an operating system is to provide an environment in which user can execute program in a convenient and efficient manner. Operating system is an important part of almost every computer system. It manages all resources of computer system. Operating system is installed in secondary memory, while it‟s some part are stored permanently in read only memory. Some part of the operating system resides in random access memory and the computer begins to execute this part of the system. 

The majority of modern home computers use some form of Microsoft's operating systems. The original Microsoft operating system was called DOS (Disk Operating System) though most computers use Windows. Windows comes in various versions beginning with version 3.x then 95, 98, XP and currently Windows 7. A few computers use IBM's O/S2. Apple's Mac use their own operating system beginning with OS 1 though most modern Macs use version 8.x or 9.x. Apple's latest version is OS 10.1.x. Some computer professionals, Internet Service Providers (ISP) and mainframe computer users use an operating system such as UNIX, Windows NT or 2000 or server based operating systems. The operating system controls the input and output or directs the flow of information to and from the CPU. Much of this is done automatically by the system. In short, we can say that an Operating System is one of the most important components of the computer software which is essential to operate a computer. When computer is turned on, it first needs to load the operating system sometimes referred to a booting up. It checks all its components and will usually display a message if there is a problem. It is also known as Power on Self Test (POST). Loading the system is usually automatic. Once the system is loaded, the user can start the application or program that he/she going to use.

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