LO2 - Operating Systems: Flashcards
What is a Computer Operating System?
An operating system is specialised software that manages all the computer systems resources, and provides a graphical user interface for the user.
What system resources does the Operating System manage?
1) Management of input / output devices,
2) Management of printing queues,
3) Management of all storage areas,
4) Management of all memory (RAM),
5) Manages processes from the CPU,
6) Manages all security protocols.
What is a Single-User Operating System?
A single-user operating system is designed so that only one user can use the device at one time.
What is a Multi-User Operating System?
A multi-user operating system is designed to allow more than one user to access the processor simultaneously.
What is a Single-Processor Operating System?
Single-processor operating systems only contain one single CPU which is shared between users by dividing the CPU time into time-slices and allocating one of these to each user.
What is a Multi-Processor Operating System?
Multi-processor operating systems contain more than one CPU. Users still share processing power / time-slices however performance is improved.
What is a User Interface (UI)?
User interfaces are the final function of an operating system, allowing the user to control the computers system resources using a graphical display interface.
