Analysis of Operating Systems - Essay Example

Operating Systems Introduction An operating system is an integral part of a computer system. A computer is a complicated system and has a hierarchical architecture, which helps in data processing. At the centre of the computer architecture is the processing unit, which processes data in digital form. In this regard the computer needs an operation system to achieve the following; Human interface The computer has to have a way of presenting this data to the human level in a language and a format which is understandable. The way the processor operates on data is not the way the human would be able to read or use the data. As a result, there is a need for a communication interface between the computer and the human users. Interfacing the peripheral with the CPU For the central system to function, it requires a number of peripheral units which helps the system to work. Such peripheral units include the memory, the hard drive etc. The processor also needs input and output devices such as the keyboard, the mouse and the monitor in order for it to be able to receive data and give data from the results of processing the raw data. All these resources need to be managed and that is where the operating system comes in. The operating system sits between these peripheral components and the central hardware (the processing unit) and regulates the way these units access and use the operating system. The operating system manages the application systems as well and acts as the intermediary between the applications which are not able to communicate directly with the computer hardware. Advantages of an operating system Multitasking and time sharing One of the greatest advantages of an operating system is the ability to multitask. Multitasking refers to the fact that the processor will be handling more than one process concurrently. This is done through time sharing and the operating system in any computing environment is very useful in determining which functions will be given which computing resources. Before the modern operating system architecture was developed in the 1950s and the early 1960s, computer processors only processed one process at a time (Meyler, Fuller and Joyner 584). The main disadvantage of processing one process at a time is that valuable processor time is lost every time there is a delay in data execution or memory access for that particular process. An operating system schedules the access of the processor of the computer and makes sure that the processor is busy throughout the uptime. Using complicated algorithms, the operating systems also determine which application or device to be given access to the processor. Based on how complicated a process is, it can be given preference or denied preference. The operating system also is able to determine which processes are critical and therefore gives them preference in order to avoid fatal errors. For instance, if a printer is asking for a timeslot in the processor, it may be given preference over other processes because delays in processing the printing data may lead to the whole process failing. In this regard, a computer operating system not only schedules processes but also acts as an error handling system which prevents the computer as well as the various processes from failing. Programmers don’t need to know the processor architecture One of advantages of operating systems is that programmers never have to worry about the architecture of a computer as long as they code programs which can be executed by the operating system. This also means that programs can be run in computers with different hardware architectures since the applications don’t have to communicate directly with the hardware (processor). In this regard, the operating system separates the functions of application developers from computer architects. The computer programmer does not have to understand the internal working of the computer because the operating system will do most of the communication between the applications developed by programmer and the computer. Security and security enforcement In a computing environment where one computer or a computer network is used by several users, there is always a need to protect the data of individual users. A computer is able to enforce security by use of passwords and other authentication methods such as hierarchy of access. An operating system is therefore able to determine who can access which information and what level of access certain individuals can have in the system. File systems and disc management One of the main advantages of operating systems is the housekeeping function which is called disk management. All operating systems are designed to support a certain kind of file management systems which makes file management in the computer easy for both the human users and the computer. File systems allow for easy access by human by having different coding systems for various types of data files. For instance, in Windows operating system, each type of file has their own extensions to determine what kind of file they are. The operating system also makes it easy to sort files using various criteria such as the date they were created, the name of the files or the size they occupy on the disk. Distribution of control One of the major advantages of the modern operating system is distribution of control (Bessis 58). With an operating system, a single central processing unit can be used to control a host of computers in a computer network. This makes it possible for and the proper use of the available resources. In this regard, operating system can be seen as a major component of distributed computing system. Distributed computing systems are very important in the optimisation of computing resources. In some cases for instance, a single computer, regardless of how powerful it is, is unable to do certain computations which require extensive computing power. In such a case, several computers would have to work together in order to execute the task. This is where a distributed operating system helps in joining these different computers in order to produce the best results. A good example of such a collaborating of computers to archive one huge computing task is the development of the famous Avatar movie developed by the movie director James Cameron. In the development of the Computer Graphics for the movie, over one thousand very powerful computers were used together in order to deliver the computing power required to develop the movie. Works Cited Bessis, Nik. Development of Distributed Systems from Design to Application and Maintenance. Hershey, PA: IGI Global Snippet, 2012. Print. Meyler, Kerrie., Fuller, Cameron, and Joyner, John. System Center 2012 Operations Manager Unleashed. New York City, NY: Sams Publishing, 2013. Print. Read More