Book.: Management of Information Technology:

          Fourth Edition

Author.: Carroll W. Frenzel

             John C. Frenzel

Reference No.: 84348

Quote:       

“Operating Systems such as Linux, Microsoft Windows XP and Apple’s MAC OS X, are computer prograns that interface between a computer’s hardware and its user. An operating system’s purpose is to provide a stable environment in which users may execute programs. Thus, the primary goal of an operating system is to make the computer reliable and convenient. Its secondary goal is to make efficient use of the computer hardware."

Chapter 5: Hardware and Software Trends

Review:   

Before the microprocessor was ever innovated in the 20th century, users attempted to solve specific problems and to answer specific questions. These individuals wrote programs, called “hands on”, to interface with direct manner to specific hardware: storage, memory, etc. On the other hand,  programs managed, called “system monitoring” by computer maintenance personnel who accepts users’ programs and data and afterwards, returns processed data output to the same users later.

Though operating systems developed from executing consecutive programs also known as Uniprocessing, to executing several programs concurrently or simultaneously, called Multiprogramming, now it advanced to managing several interconnected processors popularly known as Multiprocessing.

Multiprogramming systems schedule the executing programs according to pre-determined algorithms that are created to minimize the idle system resources. This kind of system are extremely complex and developing this would require large amounts of time and resources. Presently known as Multitasking, Multiprogramming operating systems are common characteristics on personal computers these days.

Lastly, Multiprocessor hardware configurations have lived for more than two decades now, and operating systems in them include the hardware that comes with it. These systems handle all functions, in addition manages interconnected multiprogramming CPUs.