The Purpose and Functions of an Operating System

Operating systems manage the hardware and software of a computer, as well as providing a graphical user interface (GUI). They handle file management such as being able to create, rename, copy, move, and delete files or directories. An OS handles device, security, data, and task management. The user interacts with the operating system by using a mouse or keyboard to manipulate windows, icons, and menus. With enough knowledge of the operating system you are using, you can personalize the look of it from changing the desktop background, to the resolution you see the GUI in. For security, you can set passwords to files and folders as well as the operating system itself, as well as providing backup and recovery in case anything may go wrong with your system in the event that a change was made that you don’t approve of, or if your virus protection software fails, which it also manages. With data storage, you can set partitions for allocating different files to other areas of your hard drive and have many options on what to do with those partitions. In relation to hardware, it must manage the devices you connect to it such as a mouse, keyboard, printer, speakers, and anything else internal or external that make up your computer. When using audio or video files, playing a game, editing a text-based file like I am now, or any other kind of file you may need, the OS manages whatever type of application is used to do the task. There are different types of operating systems, such as Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. Linux, the least popularly used is open source, meaning that anyone can modify, improve, or add functionality to the code as long as they don’t sell it and distribute it for free. Mac OS X is higher in popularity and is good for audio, graphical, and multimedia