Operating Systems

Control of the operation of the input, output and backing storage devices.

Supervising the loading, running and storage of applications programs.

Dealing with errors that occur in application programs.

Maintaining security of the whole computer system.

Maintaining a computer log (which details computer usage)

Allowing communication between the user and the computer system (user interface).

A user interface allows the user to interact effectively with the computer system. There are two main types of user interfaces;

Command Line Interface – CLI 

Graphical User Interface – GUI

The user is in direct communication with the computer.

The user is not restricted to a

number of predetermined options.

It is possible to alter computer

configuration settings

The user needs to learn a number of commands to carry out basic operations.

All commands need to be typed in, which takes time and can be error-prone.

Each command must be typed in using the correct format, spelling, and so on.

It is more difficult to edit once commands are entered.

The user doesn’t need to learn any commands.

It is more user-friendly; icons are used to represent applications.

A pointing device (such as a mouse) is used to click on an icon to launch the application – this is simpler than typing in commands.

It uses up considerably more computer memory than a CLI interface.

The user is limited to the icons provided on the screen.

It needs an operating system, such as Windows, to operate, which uses up considerable memory.