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Purpose and Functions of an Operating System

In: Computers and Technology

Submitted By nanakwaku80
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* PURPOSE AND FUNCTIONS OF AN OPERATING SYSTEM. * The main purpose of an operating system is that it defines an abstraction of hardware behavior with which programmers can control the hardware. An operating system also manages resources that are shared by other computer users. In addition, this system is an interface between hardware and users which manages and coordinates the activities and the sharing of the resources of the computer. It acts as a host for computing applications running on the machine * Functions
Booting the computer
The process of starting or restarting the computer is known as booting. A cold boot is when you turn on a computer that has been turned off completely. A warm boot is the process of using the operating system to restart the computer.
Performs basic computer tasks
The operating system performs basic computer tasks, such as managing the various peripheral devices such as the mouse, keyboard and printers. For example, most operating systems now are plug and play which means a device such as a printer will automatically be detected and configured without any user intervention.
Provides a user interface
A user interacts with software through the user interface. The two main types of user interfaces are: command line and a graphical user interface (GUI). With a command line interface, the user interacts with the operating system by typing commands to perform specific tasks. An example of a command line interface is DOS (disk operating system). With a graphical user interface, the user interacts with the operating system by using a mouse to access windows, icons, and menus. An example of a graphical user interface is Windows Vista or Windows 7.
The operating system is responsible for providing a consistent application program interface (API) which is important as it allows a software developer to write an application on

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