Linux Corporation as the Market Leader in the Operating System Industry - Research Paper Example

Before going towards analysis of two operating systems we will discuss what an operating system is and how it works. An operating system is an incorporated set of programs that are used to deal with a range of resources and on the whole operations of a computer system. It is designed to support the activities of a computer installation. Its leading objective is to improve performance and efficiency of a computer system and increase capacity, the ease with which a system can be used (Sinha 1999, p.170). System software is a collection of comprehensive programs that supervise the resources of the computer, such as the central processor, communications links, and peripheral devices (Kenneth 1998, p.195). According to (Kenneth 1998, p.196), system software synchronizes the various components of the computer system and mediates between application software (which illustrates the programs that are written for or by users to be appropriate the computer to a definite task), and computer hardware.

An operating system is system software which administers and controls the operations of the computer. One mode to look at the operating system is as the system’s chief manager. Operating system software makes a decision which computer resources will be used, which programs will be run, and the order in which operations will be performed. An operating system carries out three functions. It distributes and assigns system resources; it schedules the use of computer resources and computer tasks; and it observes computer system actions (Kenneth 1998, p.196).