The operating system (OS) is a fully integrated set of specially designed programs that manage overall computer operations and resources. The OS is inaccessible to the user, however it offers services that application software can enable hardware and software to be more user-friendly.

Access to the data stored on disks is an essential operating system feature, and requires the OS to be able to provide a method of organizing the contents of each file to increase speed, reliability, and storage efficiency. This structure, called the file-system, allows files to have attributes and names. They can also be arranged into folders or directories to form a directory tree.

The majority of computers are fitted with a variety of hardware devices, including printers, keyboards, mice and various other peripherals. These devices rely on the driver software of the device to communicate with the operating system. The operating system installs, configures and manages these drivers to provide the right service to the applications. It also hides hardware information from users to allow them to interact with their system without knowing the specific hardware configuration.

Process Management

An OS keeps an eye on all the applications running on the computer and decides how much time needs to be allocated to each one in a multitasking environment. It also manages interruptions applications create to distract processors’ focus and ensures that there enough memory available to allow the application to complete its task without interfering with other processes.

Operating systems also perform other tasks which are related to the overall functioning of the computer including maintaining the primary memory containing huge byte arrays or word files which each have an address. The OS can track how many bytes are image source myopendatablog.com/mastering-security-unveiling-the-magic-of-data-room-solutions/ utilized by various programs and then move, delete, or reorganize these bytes to free up space.