SCL 3: OPERATING SYSTEM AND FILE MANAGEMENT
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SCL 3: OPERATING
SYSTEM AND FILE MANAGEMENT
1.
Operating system used in a desktop/laptop today:
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Windows 8
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Windows 7 (Home Premium/Professional/Ultimate)
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Linux
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Mac OS
How does operating systems work?
Every time when you turn on your
computer, it is nice to think that you are in control. There’s the trusty
computer mouse, which you can move anywhere on the screen and summoning up what
you want. Although it’s awesome to feel like a director in front of your
desktop or laptop, there’s a lot of things happen inside of your system which
the man behind the curtain handling all the task that you gave is your
operating system.
The operating system (OS) is the
first thing loaded onto the computer and without the operating system, a
computer is useless. If you like to think with electronic devices, you are
probably pleased that operating systems can be found and needed by many devices
that we use everyday.
All desktop computers have
operating systems. There are hundreds of other operating systems
available for special-purpose applications, including specializations for
mainframes, robotics, manufacturing, real-time control systems and so on.
In any device that has an operating system, there's usually a way to make
changes to how the device works. One of the reasons operating systems
are made out of portable code rather than permanent physical circuits is so
that they can be changed or modified without having to scrap the whole device.
There are two
common things that an operating system does, which are:
1. It manages the hardware and software resources
of the system. In a desktop computer, these resources include such things as the processor, memory, disk
space and more.
2.It provides a stable,
consistent way for applications to deal with the hardware without having
to know all the details of the hardware.
When you turn on the power to a
computer, the first program that runs is usually a set of instructions kept in
the computer's read-only memory (ROM). This code examines the
system hardware to make sure everything is functioning properly. This power-on self test(POST) checks the CPU, memory, and basic
input-output systems(BIOS) for errors and stores the result in a
special memory location. Once the POST has successfully completed, the software
loaded in ROM (sometimes called the BIOS or firmware) will begin to activate the
computer's disk drives. In most modern computers, when the computer activates
the hard disk drive, it finds the first piece
of the operating system: the bootstrap
loader.
The bootstrap
loader is a small program that has a single function: It loads the operating
system into memory and allows it to begin operation. In the most basic form,
the bootstrap loader sets up the small driver programs that interface with and
control the various hardware subsystems of the computer. It sets up the
divisions of memory that hold the operating system, user information and
applications. It establishes the data structures that will hold the myriad
signals, flags and semaphores that are used to communicate within and between
the subsystems and applications of the computer. Then it turns control of the
computer over to the operating system.
The operating
system's tasks, in the most general sense, fall into five categories:
·
Processor management
- The heart of managing the processor comes down to two related
issues:
1. Ensuring that each process and
application receives enough of the processor's time to function
properly.
2. Using as many
processor cycles as possible for real work.
The basic unit of software that the operating system deals
with in scheduling the work done by the processor is either a process or
a thread, depending on the operating system.
·
Memory management and Storage management
- When an operating system manages the computer's memory, there are two broad tasks to be accomplished:
1. Each process must
have enough memory in which to execute, and it can neither run into the memory
space of another process nor be run into by another process.
2. The different types
of memory in the system must be used properly so that each process can run most
effectively.
The first task requires the operating system to set up memory
boundaries for types of software and for individual applications.
·
Device management
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Managing input and output is largely a matter
of managing queues and buffers, special storage facilities that take a stream of
bits from a device, perhaps a keyboard or a serial port, hold those bits, and
release them to the CPU at a rate with which the CPU can cope. This function is especially important when a number
of processes are running and taking up processor time.
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Managing all the resources of the computer
system is a large part of the operating system's function and, in the case of
real-time operating systems, may be virtually all the functionality required.
For other operating systems, though, providing a relatively simple, consistent
way for applications and humans to use the power of the hardware is a crucial
part of their reason for existing.
·
Application interface
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Just as drivers provide a way for applications
to make use of hardware subsystems without having to know every detail of the
hardware's operation, application
program interfaces (APIs) let application programmers
use functions of the computer and operating system without having to directly keep track of
all the details in the CPU's operation.
·
User interface
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Just as the API provides a
consistent way for applications to use the resources of the computersystem, a user interface (UI)
brings structure to the interaction between a user and the computer.
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The user interface is a program or set of
programs that sits as a layer above the operating system itself. The same thing
is true, with somewhat different mechanisms, of both Windows and Macintosh
operating systems. The core operating-system functions -- the management of the
computer system -- lie in the kernel of the operating system. The display manageris separate, though it may be tied tightly to the kernel beneath.
The ties between the operating-system kernel and the user interface, utilities
and other software define many of the differences in operating systems today,
and will further define them in the future.
ADVANTAGES AND
DISADVANTAGES
An operating system is a software program that
enables the computer hardware to
communicate and cooperate with the computer software. For examples, Windows,
Mac OS and Linux. These are the advantages and the disadvantages of them.
Windows:
Ø Expensive.
Ø Easy to be use by any stage of
ages.
Ø Theres still lags problems behind
its competitors.
Ø It has a large library of
available software and applications.
Ø Openness to virus attack.
Linux:
Ø An open source.
Ø A bit difficult to be use for a
beginners.
Ø Very reliable.
Ø Rarely freezes.
Ø Only few computer programs,
applications and utilities are available for this OS.
Ø Some manufacturers do not offer
hardware that able to support Linux OS.
Ø Allowed more advanced users to
customise the code as what they wished.
Ø Less people familiar to this
operating system.
Mac OS:
Ø Mac computers ara more expensive.
Ø Far less open to viruses and
malware.
Ø It was very rarely to crash, lose
datas and also freezes.
Ø Less computer programs and games
are available for Macs.
COMPARISON BETWEEN ANDROID AND WINDOWS 8 IN SMART PHONES
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ANDROID
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WINDOWS 8
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v Android is
an open system that is extremely and easily to be customize.
v Each smart phone
that runs on the operating system comes with a specific user interface that
is generally easy to use and allows us to customize the look of our device
with a variety of skins or themes, wallpapers and the ability to create
widgets based on the apps we have on our phones.
v The notification
bar on the Jelly Bean operating system has also been redesigned so that it is
more noticeable and attractive than the older version.
v Jelly Bean has
support for more languages in it’s keyboard.
v Google Now is
included in Android's Jelly Bean powered smart phones
|
·
The user interface is simple and clean and
boasts a great metro look that includes live tiles and the ability to
customize our home screen with apps of our choice and making them size of our
choice from small, medium and large.
·
Windows phones 8 is easy to use and also refreshing
change from the other and the older operating systems found in smart phones.
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Windows phones 8 holds over android's Jelly Bean
is that phones that run on it consume considerably less battery power while
windows phones provides enough juice to last the user all the day and
sometimes into the next.
·
Windows phone 8 also integrates its People Hub
with the most popular social networking websites and email hosts.
·
The integration is quite nice and installation of
apps such as Facebook, for instance, are not necessary as it is already
built into the phones.
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