Operating systems

Abstract

A computer system is typically made up of hardware, an operating system and a user interface, as illustrated in Figure A3.1. The hardware includes the central processing unit (CPU), memory, and input/output devices, whereas an operating system allows an easy interface between the user and the hardware. Operating systems are key components of a computer system, and they provide a foundation for programs and the user to access the resources of a computer, in an easy-to-use way. They have evolved recently into systems which can sense the hardware of the system and set it up in the required way. At one time, a computer program required to know how to access all the different types of hardware that it connected to. The user would then have to set it up in the settings of the program. These days the operating system hides much of the complexity of the hardware from user programs, and the user.