general theory Flashcards
operating system
a collection of suite programs that manages and controls the computer. It keeps the details of how this is done hidden from the user
the main functions performed by an operating system (4)
- file management
- process management
- hardware management
- user interface management
common operating systems (5)
- Microsoft Windows
- macOS
- Linux
- Android
- iOS
how is data stored in files within folders within drives
by creating a virtual file structure of the physical components. It has a hierarchal structure starting with the root directory, a bit like an upside down tree
the file system assigns meta data to each file including:
- date created
- date modified
- last date accessed
- last backup
- file creator user ID
- access permissions
- file size
functions users can perform on files (6)
- create
- name/rename
- save
- copy
- move
- delete
multiprograming
enables several programs to run at the same time
process
when some of the program instructions are running
what is process management
since the main memory is too small to run all the processes, the operating system uses multi-processing to allocate the use of the main memory and the CPU.
what is hardware management?
when the operating system manages input and output from hardware devices and the use of any resources needed by a process
input/output management
device drivers allow devices created by different manufacturers to communicate
resource management
the operating system allocates the required resource to the processes that are currently running. Internally, the operating system ensures that any data and/or instructions in main memory do not conflict with each other, and allocates the memory that the process requires
user interface management
operating systems provide interfaces to users of the computer system, allowing them to communicate with the hardware. The operating system uses abstraction to hide complexity from the user
the two types of interface
- graphic user interface (GUI)
2. command line interface/interpreter (CLI)
graphical user interface (GUI)
a desktop view where everything is displayed and use WIMP (windows, icons, menus and pointer) to describe the features of this interface
Applications run in windows and all objects (apps, hardware and files) are represented by icons.
Application features are accessible through the use of menus.
Users interact with the interface by using a mouse and onscreen pointer.
GUIs are powerful and easy to use but require a lot of processing power