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• Multi-tasking Operating System: A multi-tasking operating system allows users to execute multiple tasks on
one computer at a time. All the tasks share a common processing resource like CPU. In this type of operating
systems, priority of tasks can also be changed according to the requirement. The most commonly used
multitasking operating systems are Windows XP, Windows 7, UNIX and Linux.
• Real Time Operating System: It provides certain capabilities like control machine, instruments and industrial
system within specified time period.
Functions of an Operating System
An operating system is the manager of the computer which comes into role as soon as the power is switched on
and it remains there in the computer memory till the power is off. Actually, we interact with an operating system
to get the work done by a computer using any application software. So, you can well imagine how important it is
for a computer. Now, let's study what all important functions it performs in a computer:
• User Interface: It acts as an interface between the user and the machine by controlling all the programs and its
applications. This helps a user in providing a simple and smooth interaction with the machine without learning
its language and going deep into its structure.
• Memory Management: It means managing the use of primary and secondary memory without the interference
of the user. It keeps a track of :
✶ which part of memory is to be used by which program.
✶ allocating a memory required by a specific program.
✶ deallocating and cleaning it after the process ends.
✶ prioritising the memory allocation in case of multiprogramming.
• File Management: It organises the files and the folders in a proper hierarchical structure. All the files with
different extensions are managed by operating system. It helps:
✶ in protecting the files and folders by providing a password facility.
✶ in creating and retrieving a specific file or a folder.
✶ renaming, deleting, copying, shifting to specific location.
• Device Management: It is managing all the input, output or storage devices attached to the system with the
help of device controllers and device drivers. The device controllers take care of the transfer of data between a
running process and the various devices of the computer system. The device driver controls the functioning of
the various devices attached to the computer. It helps to:
✶ keep track of the status of all the devices.
✶ allocate and deallocate the device to a specific process as and when needed.
• Process Management: Running a browser to have access to an Internet, or working in Microsoft Word for
editing and printing a document— an operating system has this important feature of managing multiple
processes at a time. The basic functions as a process manager are:
✶ tracks the status of the process.
✶ allocates and deallocates the resources (especially CPU) to a specific process.
✶ handles multiple processes at a time in a multitasking and multiprogramming environment.
• Security Management: It is protecting the system resources and the data from an unauthorised access. This
task is done by:
68 Touchpad Artificial Intelligence-IX

