What is an operating system?

The operating system is a collection of system software that controls the operation of other programs, manages the resources of the system, and provides the user with an operating interface.

The operating system (English, operating system, or OS) is a program that manages computer hardware and software resources and is also the kernel and cornerstone of a computer system. Operating systems have such basic services as managing and configuring memory, prioritizing the supply and demand of system resources, controlling input and output devices, operating networks, and managing file systems. Operating system is the management of computer system of all the hardware resources, including software resources and data resources, control program operation, improve Man-machine interface, provide support for other application software, so that all resources of computer system to maximize the role, to provide users with convenient, effective and friendly service interface. Operating system is a huge management control program, roughly including 5 aspects of management functions: process and processor management, job management, storage management, equipment management, file management. At present, the common operating systems on microcomputers are DOS, OS/2, UNIX, Xenix, LINUX, Windows, NetWare and so on. But all operating systems have four basic features of concurrency, sharing, virtualization, and uncertainty.

The operating system is very diverse, and the OS installed by different machines can be from simple to complex, from the embedded system of the handset to the large operating system of the supercomputer. Many OS makers also have inconsistent definitions of the OS, such as some OS-integrated graphical user interfaces, while some OS use only text interfaces and view the graphical interface as an unnecessary application.

Operating system theory is a long and active branch in computer science, while the design and implementation of operating system is the foundation and kernel of software industry.