An operating system (OS) is a set of computer software and an interface for managing the computing resources of a machine using application programs that are understandable to the user.
Control program
The functioning of electronic computers is impossible without coordinating programs. A modern computer integrates a number of different devices, which require a control center to work together. For example, a video card processes images, a central processor performs calculations, a monitor displays information, a drive reads data from a CD, etc. Such coordinators and managers, coordinating the functioning of all nodes and components, are operating systems.
To further illustrate the function of an operating system, compare the hardware of a computer with the body, and the control complex with the brain and nervous system. The operating system is involved in all computer processes and ensures the interaction of data arrays at the level of computations, computing programs and hardware components, as well as the user and the software application.
All modern interfaces are graphical solutions and are designed so that the user intuitively understands the interaction algorithm. There are three main categories of such solutions: the real-time category, the split category, and the batch task category. Systems of the first category allow user participation in the computation process. Split category solutions involve switching the processor from one task to another. This fast switching allows multiple jobs to be processed in virtual continuity. In this case, the user can also intervene in the process. In solutions of the latter category, user access to processes is denied. The computer independently generates a list of tasks and sends them in packets for calculation. You can make changes to the data only in the intervals between sending such packets.
Graphical interface
The user enters his commands for the system using graphic symbols - pictograms. Actually, the entire interface is a set of graphic symbols that form a control system understandable for human perception. All modern operating systems are graphical solutions, and their popularity directly depends on how easy they are to manage.
There are certainly text-based operating systems like those that existed in the early days of instrumentation. But such systems are used mainly for highly specialized applications and, as a rule, in industry and scientific research. That is, in cases where the user is an expert and is ready to master special tools.
