You may have heard of UNIX, Windows and Mac OS, but what is an operating system and what does it do? The operating system is like the backbone of the computer. An operating system is the primary software that organizes and controls all the hardware, functions, operations and software programs of a computer.

The kind of operating system a computer uses is dependent on what kind of computer it is and what it is going to be used for. Most computers come pre-loaded with the operating system when you purchase them. Personal computers usually come pre-loaded with Windows, Apple computers usually are pre-loaded with the Macintosh operating system and servers use such operating systems as Linux and UNIX however there are hundreds of operating systems available if you have specific needs for them.

Operating systems are in all kinds of products that we use, not just computers. Operating systems are used by video game consoles, cell phones, PDA’s and more.

The operating system is the core of a computer system. It manages how the hardware and software interacts - some would say communicates - with each other. It is responsible for the smooth operation of the system and has to ensure that software and hardware will not interfere with each others operations.

So called drivers are used so that the operating system can interact and work with the computer’s hardware such as the video card or computer memory.

The operating system provides the software programs with hardware information which means that the applications do not have to add their own routines to work with the hardware. The operating system manages all hardware of a computer system.

As the central component of a computer system the operating system manages data transfer between hardware and software. Pressing a key on the keyboard is for instance directed to several hardware components like the processor and video card so that the result can be outputted on the computer screen.

Security is another part of any operating system. They are usually making use of so called computer profiles which are associated with one user or a user group. Authorization can take place locally but also over a computer network or the Internet. Users and user group can have different authorization levels enabling or permitting them from using certain functions and features of the operating system.

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