21/10/09

What is Operating System?

What is Operating System (OS)?
The operating system is the group of instructions that are pre charged in a computer in order to prepare it to start other programs such as word processors, spread sheets, etcetera.

How does it work?
The Operating System activates itself ones the computer is turned on. When the first electric impulse arrives to the brain of the machine it is interpreted as a sign to go to a special place in the memory and "read" the inicial programming that have been stored there. Those programming lines will allow the computer to start the interface with the user of the machine and therefore will be ready to begin any action or program that she or he decides. If the OS is seen like this, we can compare it to the initial instructions that each being in the world has in order to preserve their lives, and those instructions, that exist in the form of chemical fluids and substances are named "instincts".

What is it for?
The main use for the OS is, to put it in some way, to pave the road for other programs to work properly so they can help the users to achieve and complete their tasks and duties.

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We recommend
AVI SILBERSCHATZ, et. Al., Operating System Concepts.
ANN McHOES, IDA M. FLYNN, Understanding Operating Systems.