Introduction Flashcards
What is an operating system?
A program that acts as an intermediary between a user of a computer and the hardware.
What are some of the operating systems goals?
- Executing user programs and helping to solve user problems
- Making the computer system convenient to use
- Using the computer hardware in an efficient manner
What’s the role of hardware
Hardware provides basic computing resources like CPU, memory, and I/O devices.
What’s the role of the operating system in regards to hardware?
The operating system controls and coordinates the use of hardware among various applications and users.
What do application programs do?
Applicatoin programs define the ways in which the system resources are used to solve the computing problems of the users. E.g, word processors, compilers, browsers database systems and video games.
What are users?
People, machines and other computers.
What is caching?
The process of storing certain data in high speed caches so it can be accessed more quickly.
