UNIX and Linux Design and Organisation

Abstract

In order for a computer to do any useful work, it must also perform ‘housekeeping’. It needs to understand that it has various devices such as printers connected to it, and it needs to know when a user wants to run a program. These tasks, are performed by an operating system, together with many others that are required for the computer to function effectively, but are not of interest to the user. An operating system is a program, or collection of programs, that runs whenever the computer is switched on. It controls the computer, allows the user to type in instructions to the computer, and performs many other necessary functions. UNIX is an operating system.