KAPIRI GIRLS NATIONAL TECHNICAL SCHOOL

OPERATING SYSTEMS
Senior Secondary Grade 10
 INTRODUCTION TO OPERATING SYSTEMS
▪ The operating system is the main software that
controls all the operations that take place in the
computer and manages the computer hardware.
▪ It provides an interface to enable users to interact
with the computer.
▪ Examples of operating system
• Microsoft windows
• LINUX
• UNIX
• Mac OS
 TYPES OF OPERATING SYSTEMS
• Batch operating system
• Distributed operating system
• Embedded operating system
• Real-time operating system
▪ When the computer is turned on, an operating
system is loaded first during the boot process.
▪ The operating system provides an interface to
enable users to interact with the computer.
 USER INTERFACES

• User interface lets users understand and talk to

machine.
• User interface is the visual display that people
use to communicate with a computer.
1. Graphical user interface (GUI)
2. Command line interface (CLI)
 GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE
▪ It serves as an interface between the computer and the
user.
▪ You interact with the computer using a series of windows
and clicking on icons, menus, buttons or other visual
components to give instructions to the computer.
▪ Windows 7 offers two GUIs depending on the hardware
configuration.
• Computers with less than 1 GB RAM work with windows 7
basic interface.
• Computers with more than 1GB work with windows Aero
interface.
Mario @2021
ADVANTAGES OF GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE

• You can find help easily

• You can see when something goes wrong
• Icons, windows and menus are easier to
use.
 DISADVANTAGES OF GUI

• You have to use keyboard and mouse

which is slower than typing commands
• It uses more primary memory.
 COMMAND LINE INTERFACE
• Displays a prompt
• It is text-based, so the user must know the
commands which can be entered with a
keyboard.
• It is commonly used when using LINUX
operating system.
• Experienced users and system administrators
prefer to use CLI for trouble shooting and
system maintenance.
Mario @2021
ADVANTAGES OF COMMAND LINE INTERFACE

• Very flexible with uses of switches

• Good for expert users
• Uses few system resources
 DISADVANTAGES OF COMMAND LINE
INTERFACE
• Requires user to learn complex
commands or language
• It has hidden features
• Not very good for novice users
 COMMAND LINE INTERFACE APPLICATIONS

•System administration
•Engineering applications
•Scientific applications
 EXERCISE
The screenshot below shows a user interface of an
operating system. Use it to answer the questions
below.
(a)Name this type of operating system interface.
(b)Give two functions of this operating function.
(c)State two advantages of this type of operating
system.
(d)State two disadvantages of this type of
operating system
(e)Smartphones use an operating system that
responds to touching, tapping or pinching.
Name the input device suitable for such a
system.
 FUNCTIONS OF THE OPERATING SYSTEM
▪ Starting the computer.
▪ User interfaces
▪ Managing program and tasks.
▪ Configuring devices
▪ Scheduling tasks and updates
▪ Coordinating tasks
▪ Memory management
▪ Security features
▪ Monitoring performance
 STARTING THE COMPUTER
▪ The process of starting or restating a computer is
called booting.
▪ The boot sequence refers to the initial instructions
that a computer performs when the power is
switched on.
▪ When you boot a system, the start up instruction
which is stored in BIOS (Basic input/output system)
on the ROM are executed.
▪ The BIOS preforms Power On Self Test (POST) to
ensure that the computer hardware connected
to the computer is correctly installed and is fully
functional
 BOOTING

• It is a process of starting or restarting a computer.

1. Cold boot is switching a computer on.
2. Warm boot is restarting a computer that is
already on.
▪Bios is a very good example of firmware.
Firmware is a computer program that is coded
onto a ROM chip by the manufacturer, instead
of being provided on the disc.
 MANAGING PROGRAMS AND TASKS
❑A single user/single tasking operating
system.
▪It allows only one user to run one program at
a time.
▪Operating systems for smartphones and
other handheld devices are often single
user/single tasking operating system.
❑ single user/multitasking tasking operating system.
▪ Allows single user to work on two or more programs that
reside in memory.
▪ Multitasking allows for multithreading. In multithreading,
multiple parts or threads of a single program run at a
same time. e.g. in spreadsheet, one part may wait for
input while another part is performing calculations.
▪ The program that you are currently working on is in the
foreground and it is called active program while the
other programs are in the background.
❑A multiuser operating system
▪ Enables two or more users to run programs
simultaneously. e.g. Network servers, mainframes and
supercomputers.
 TASK MANAGER
▪When using windows, you can open the task
manager to see the list of processes that are
being executed by the processor at a given
time.
▪To see the active processes, you access the
Task Manager and click on the process tab.
 EXERCISE
1. What is an operating system?
2. State four functions of an operating
system.
3. Differentiate between cold booting and
warm booting.
4. Explain single/multiuser operating system.
 CONFIGURING DEVICES
▪ Operating system also handle input and output
and enable communication with input and output
devices.
▪ Most operating systems come with drivers for
popular input and output devices.
▪ Most operating systems support plug-and play this
means operating system automatically configures
new devices when they are connected to a
computer.
 SCHEDULING TASKS AND UPDATES
▪ The task scheduler enables you to create and
schedule tasks for your computer to carry out
automatically, at a time you specify.
▪ Triggers and actions are involved in scheduling a
task. A trigger causes a task to run and action is
the work that is performed when a task is run.
▪ Occurrences that can trigger a task include the
computer starting up, entering in idle state or
unlocking a work station.
 COORDINATING TASKS
▪Determines the order in which tasks are processed.
▪A task refers to an operation that the processor
manages.
▪The operating system determines which command
gets processed first when a user is working with
more than one program at a time or in multiuser
system.
 MEMORY MANAGEMENT
▪ The operating system is responsible for managing
memory to optimise the use of RAM.
▪ The operating system allocates or assigns data and
instructions to an area of memory while they are being
processed.
▪ When multiple programs are running simultaneously, the
RAM reaches near capacity and slows down, to solve this
problem, the operating system uses Virtual Memory and
the data that has moved from RAM to virtual memory is
called swap file.
▪ The process of swapping data and instruction between
RAM and storage is called paging.
▪ When the operating system spends too much of its time
paging instead of executing applications, then its said to
be thrashing.
 SECURITY FEATURES
▪ To prevent unauthorised access to a system an operating system
provides access controls.
▪ Access control is a security measure that establishes permission or
access rights in terms of who can access certain resources and
when they can access those resources, as well as what actions
they can perform while accessing the resources.
▪ Access control is implemented through identification and
authentication.
▪ Identification verifies that an individual is a valid user.
▪ Authentication verifies that the user is person he or she claims to be.
▪ They take place via usernames and passwords, processed objects
and biometric devices.
▪ Operating systems contain integrated security
software. e.g. in windows, Windows Firewall, Windows
Defender, User Account control and Action Center
programs to prevent unwanted access and
malicious software.
▪ User Account control asks for your permission before
installing software.
▪ Action Center checks several security and
maintenance related items and report overall
performance of the computer.
 MONITORING PERFORMANCE

▪Operating systems have performance

monitoring programs that monitor, assess
and report on processor, disks, network and
memory usage.
 EXERCISE
• The operating system is the main software that
controls all the operations that take place in the
computer and manages the computer hardware.
1. List and explain two functions of an operating
system.
2. What is access control?
3. State the difference between identification and
authentication.
4. Describe the process of paging.