Page 16 - Viva ICSE Computer Studies 8 : E-book
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Memory Management
An operating system manages the sharing of internal memory among various applications.
It is responsible for effi cient utilisation of memory like cache and RAM within the system. It also
takes care of the memory of all the processes and is responsible for deallocation of memory
from the process.
Storage Management
An operating system decides how the data or fi les will be stored in the computer and how the
fi les will be accessed by the users.
File Management
An operating system allows the users to create fi les and directories, and keeps a track of
information regarding processes like creation, deletion, transfer and copy in an organised
manner.
Security
An operating system has inbuilt security modules that protect the resources and information
stored on a computer system from unauthorised access.
Types of Operating Systems
Let’s learn about diff erent types of operating systems.
Single-User Operating System
A single-user operating system is designed only for the use of a single user. In these systems,
there is only one terminal on which the operating system is installed and can be accessed by
a single user only. MS-DOS, PC DOS and OS/2 are some examples of single-user operating
systems.
Multi-User Operating System
A multi-user operating system is designed for multiple users and is used for computers
having multiple terminals. Unix, Xenix, Windows and OS/400 are some examples of multi-user
operating systems.
Multi-Processor Operating System
A multi-processor operating system consists of several processors that share a common
memory. These operating systems allow multiple applications to run at the same time and the
processors operate under the single operating system.
Multitasking Operating System
The act of performing multiple tasks at a time is called multitasking. A multitasking operating
system allows to perform multiple tasks using one CPU. It performs the tasks so quickly that it
gives the appearance of executing all programs at the same time. Unix, Linux and Windows are
some examples of multitasking operating systems.
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