Goals of Operating System

The Operating System (OS) is the fundamental software layer that manages computer hardware and provides a platform for running applications. Operating System is not only a combination of Commands, it is much more than that. The objective of an operating system can vary depending on the device and the requirement of that particular operating system, but here are five overarching goals commonly associated with operating systems:

History of the Operating System

The first operating system was developed in the late 1950s to manage the tape storage.

In 1950, IBM 701-the general motors research lab developed the first operating system.

In the 1960s, disks were used in the operating system, and the primary version of the Unix operating system was developed.

Microsoft’s first developed Operating System was DOS. It was developed in 1981 by purchasing a Seattle company 86-DOS software.

In 1985, the time when the GUI was developed and combined with MS-DOS, the current popular window OS first came into being.

Resource Management:

One of the primary objective of an operating system is to manage the hardware resources of Computer system, including CPU (Central Processing Unit), memory, disk storage, and Input/Output devices.

The Operating system provides these resources among competing processes to ensure that each receives a fair share and that system resources are utilized effectively. Scheduling processes, managing memory allocation and deallocation, and coordinating access to I/O devices come under the process of Resource management.

• Memory Management: Operating system keep track of the primary memory, means it keeps track of what part of memory is used, what part is not in use, and also helps to allocate the memory when a process requests it.

Main Memory: - Main memory is also called Primary memory or Volatile memory. Main memory stores data and programs. The main memory is called volatile memory because when the system is turned off, then the content of the memory is erased automatically, or content is lost.

Processor: - A processor is defined as an integrated electronic circuit which performs the job of calculations in the computer. It performs input/output(I/O), arithmetical logical operations, and basic instructions that are passed from an operating system.

]The task of the processor is to control the processes in the computer and also perform data processing functions. If there is only one processor, then it is called a central processing unit (CPU).

• Processor Management: Processor management means allocating processors to the process when the process needs and also deallocates the processor when the process does not require the processor.

• Device management: The operating system also maintains the track of all the devices, which means an operating system decides which process should get the device, when and for how much time.

• Error-detecting Aids: The operating system also provides the facility of error detection by the production of dumps, traces, error messages, and by using different debugging and error detecting techniques.

• Security: The operating system prevents programs and data from unauthorized access by using username and passwords and some other techniques like fingerprint authentication and Iris scanning.

Abstraction:

Operating systems provide a layer of connection between the hardware and the software applications running on the Computer system or any other device.

These connecting shields prevent the applications from the complexities of the underlying hardware. By providing global-standard interfaces and services, the OS enables software portability across different hardware platforms and simplifies the development process.

Security:

Security is a critical concern for operating/Computer systems, as they are responsible for protecting the system from unknown access, malicious files and other security weaknesses.

Operating system security mechanisms include user identity, access control policies, encryption, protection wall or Firewalling, and security risk detection/prevention systems. The Operating System also maintains isolation between two processes to prevent each process from interfering with another process or accessing the memory or resources of another process without proper authorization.