Operating Systems Flashcards, test questions and answers

Discover flashcards, test exam answers, and assignments to help you learn more about Operating Systems and other subjects. Don’t miss the chance to use them for more effective college education. Use our database of questions and answers on Operating Systems and get quick solutions for your test.

What is Operating Systems?

Operating systems (OS) are computer programs that manage the hardware and software of a computer. They provide an interface between users, applications, and computer hardware. In addition to managing memory usage and processes, they also control input/output (I/O) devices like printers, keyboards, mouse, and disks. Operating systems have evolved over time to become more efficient in their management of resources and capable of handling new tasks such as networking capabilities. The most popular operating systems today are Microsoft Windows 10, Apple’s macOS, Google’s Android OS for mobile devices, Linux distributions like Ubuntu or Fedora Core, FreeBSD for servers/workstations and its derivatives such as OpenBSD or NetBSD. The main purpose of an operating system is to provide a platform for applications to run on top of it. An operating system provides the necessary environment so that user-level programs can access low-level hardware components such as RAM memory or CPU registers directly without having to know the details about how these components work internally. This way developers can focus on developing specific features instead worrying about how the underlying hardware works since this responsibility is delegated to the OS itself by providing a consistent set of APIs along with other libraries that abstract away most implementation details from application developers allowing them to stay focused on their goal instead spending time understanding low level details about each component involved in running their app successfully across multiple platforms. Additionally an operating system provides some useful services such as controlling access rights between different users/applications preventing malicious code from executing; scheduling processes according to priority levels; allocating resources among competing activities efficiently; implementing network protocols like TCP/IP; creating file systems making sure data is stored safely while still being accessible when needed; etc… All these tasks make up what we call the kernel which is at the heart of any modern OS out there today but this could be extended with additional services provided by userland components which usually come bundled with each distribution depending on what type you choose (e.g., server vs desktop). All things considered an Operating System should be seen not only as a piece of software necessary for computers but also as something critical that contributes immensely towards computing progress due its capacity for enabling innovation through its abstraction layers giving us access control mechanisms keeping us safe online storage solutions allowing us store our important data securely etc… It’s clear then why both commercial companies non-profit organizations spend significant amounts annually making sure their Operating Systems stay updated with latest standards technology trends thus ensuring performance usability security compatibility across different architectures platforms vendors etc…