The operating system (OS) is an integrated set of specialized programs that control the computer’s overall operations and resources. The OS is inaccessible to the user, but it provides services that applications programs can use to make software and hardware more user-friendly.
Access to the data stored on disks is a fundamental function of the operating system. It requires the OS to have a way to organize the contents of each file to increase speed, reliability and storage efficiency. This structure is referred to as a file system. It permits files to be given names and attributes and to be organized into directories or folders to form the directory tree.
The majority of computers have a variety of kinds of hardware devices, such as keyboards, mice, and printers that rely on drivers for the device to communicate with the system. The operating system installs and configures these drivers in order to provide the appropriate service to applications. It also hides hardware details from the user so that they are able to interact with their system without having to know the detailed hardware configuration.
Process Management
OSs monitor the applications running on a computer. They determine how much time each application should receive in a multitasking situation. It also controls the interruptions that programs cause to divert processors’ focus and my open data blog ensures there is enough memory to allow an application to complete its task without interfering with other processes.
Operating systems also perform other tasks connected to the overall performance of the computer. For example they manage the primary memory, which is comprised of huge arrays of bytes or words with an address for each. The OS keeps track of how much of these bytes are utilized by various applications and can move, delete or arrange them to free up space.