Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate - Information Technology/Functions of an Operating System

Functions of an Operating System

Today most operating systems perform the following important functions:

• Processor management, that is, assignment of processor to different tasks being performed by the computer system.
• Memory management, that is, allocation of main memory and other storage areas to the system programmes as well as user programmes and data.
• Input/output management, that is, co-ordination and assignment of the different output and input device while one or more programmes are being executed.
• File management, that is, the storage of file of various storage devices to another. It also allows all files to be easily changed and modified through the use of text editors or some other files manipulation routines.
• Establishment and enforcement of a priority system. That is, it determines and maintains the order in which jobs are to be executed in the computer system.
• Automatic transition from job to job as directed by special control statements.
• Interpretation of commands and instructions.
• Coordination and assignment of compilers, assemblers, utility programs, and other software to the various user of the computer system.
• Facilities easy communication between the computer system and the computer operator (human). It also establishes data security and integrity.