OVERVIEW of OPERATING SYSTEM

What is Operating System(OS):

Operating System is a system software which mainly operate system. OS manages hardware and software of the computer and helps user to interact with the machine. without Operating System, any digital devices ( computer, mobile etc.) cannot be run.

Schematic diagram of the controlling process of a computer.

    Some important functions of Operating System(OS):

• Operating System(OS) provides a platform to run an application software.
• OS provides the facility of using input and output to the other program.
• Memory management is one of the most important task of OS. OS determines how much memory will be allocated for a specific task.
• In multi programming environment, OS decides which process gets the processor when and for how much time. This phenomenon is known as Process Scheduling. 
• Error detection.
• Security: OS prevents the unauthorized access to to program and data.

  Various types of OS:

If we divide the OS on the basis of structure and function, there are various types of OS viz. Single and Multitasking, Single and Multi-user, Distributed, Templated, Real time Operating System etc.

   But, here my intention is not to discuss about that types. Here I discuss about  various modern OS of personal computer and mobile.

Name of the OS of Personal Computer(PC):

1. Microsoft Windows           

   

   Personal Computer(PC)

2. mac OS
3. Linux

                                                                             

Name of the OS of Mobile:

1. Android                

   

   Mobile Phone

2. iOS
3. BlackBerry OS
4. Windows Phone  

Discussion on the OS of Personal Computer:

1) Microsoft Windows: 

It is the most widely used closed source desktop Operating System. It is developed, marketed and sold by Microsoft. Microsoft Windows is written in C, C++, C#. The first version of this OS is released in 1985.

  Some notable and popular version of Microsoft Windows are:

• Windows XP( released in 2001)
• Windows 7( released in 2009)
• Windows 8( released in 2012)
• Windows 10( released in 2015) 
• Windows 11( released in Oct, 2021)
  

2) mac OS:     

Apple Inc.

  
mac OS ( Mac Operating System) is developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the second most widely used desktop OS, after Microsoft Windows. It is written in C, C++, Objective-C, Swift. mac OS is  generally run in hardware which is manufactured by Apple company. 

Some versions of mac OS are:

•  Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar( released in 2002).
• Mac OS X Lion (released in 2011).
• mac OS Mojave (released on Sept. 24, 2018). 
• mac OS Big Sur (released in 2020) 
• mac OS 12 Monterey (released in 2021) 
• mac OS Ventura (released on October 24, 2022)
  

3)Linux:

It is a free  and open source Operating System. The versions of Linux are known as Distributions (  or, in the short form, "Distros" ). Linux is not developed by a single one. Many companies and community are associated with its developing. However, Linux Kernel  was first developed by Linus Torvalds.

Mascot of Linux

Most popular Linux distributions are:

• Ubuntu Linux (released in 2004). 

  

  Logo represents, 3 people clasped their hand

   

• Linux Mint ( released in 2006).
• Fedora (released in 2003).

 Here, I haven't mentioned the distributions chronologically because these are not the updated version of another. They have different flavors.

 

 

 

 

 

Logo of Linux Mint

Comparison between Microsoft Windows and Linux:

                  Linux     vs.    Microsoft Windows            

1) Linux is free of cost               
1) Microsoft windows is not free of cost.

2) Linux is open source ( one can inspect, modify and enhance the source code).  

2) Microsoft windows  is closed source. 

3) Linux is more secure ( the rate of attacking of malware is low) than the Microsoft Windows.
4) Microsoft Windows is less secure . User Should be aware of malware.

4) In Linux, File name is case sensitive ( i.e, "a" and "A" are different).

4) In Microsoft, File name is not case sensitive.

5) There is no drives in Linux.
5)There are two or more drives in Windows, viz.,  C: ,D: , E: .

6) Graphical User Interface ( GUI ) of Linux is not as good as Windows.Generally Linux user use command line for better performance.
6) GUI (to work using mouse) of Windows is better than that of Linux.

7) The availability of various types of software is not as high as Windows. e.g- "Adobe Photoshop" is not available for Linux but it available for Windows. 
7) There is a huge number of application software in Microsoft Windows platform.

Discussion on the OS of Mobile:

1) Android:                          

It is an Open source mobile operating system developed  by Google (initially developed by Android Inc. which was bought by Google in 2005). It is written in Java, C, C++. Its kernel type is Monolithic ( modified Linux kernel ). Android was first unveiled in 2007 and the first commercial device was launched in September 2008. Android is the most popular Operating system globally.

Some recent Android versions are:

• Lollipop ( version number 5.0 - 5.1.1 , released in 2014).
• Marshmallow ( version number 6.0 -6.0.1 , released in 2015).
• Nougat ( Version number 7.0 - 7.1.2 , released in 2016 ).
• Oreo ( version number 8.0 - 8.1 , released in 2017).
• Pie (version number 9.0 , released on August 6,2018). 
• Android 10 (version 10.0, released on September 3, 2019). 
• Android 11 (version 11.0, released on September 8, 2020). 
• Android 12 (version 12.0 - 12L, released on October 4, 2021). 
• Android 13 (version 13.0, released on August 16, 2022).
  

2) iOS:

iOS ( formally iPhone OS) is a closed source mobile Operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. This Operating System is created only for the gadgets made by Apple. It is the second most popular mobile Operating system after Android. iOS was  unveiled in 2007.

Some important iOS versions are:

• iOS 9 (released in 2015).
• iOS 10 (released in 2016).
• iOS 11 (released in 2017).
• iOS 12 (released on September 17,2018). 
• iOS13 (released on September 19, 2019). 
• iOS14 (released on September 16, 2020). 
• iOS15 (released on September 20, 2021).  
• iOS16 (released on September 12, 2022).

3) BlackBerry:

BlackBerry OS was a closed mobile Operating System. It was developed by Canadian company BlackBerry Limited for its mobile phone. BlackBerry Limited launched its initial version in 1999 and they closed its update in 2013. In that year (2013) they (BlackBerry Limited) released another OS named BlackBerry 10.

BlackBerry 10:

It is a closed source proprietary mobile Operating System developed by BlackBerry Limited. This OS is used only in BlackBerry smartphone. It is written in  C, C++, Qt.

4) Windows Phone:

It is now a discontinued mobile Operating System developed by Microsoft. It was first launched in 2010(as Windows Phone 7). Its final release was in 2015. 

   In 2015, Microsoft released an another mobile phone Operating System named "Windows 10 Mobile". It hasn't been so popular among the smart phone users. The mainstream support for this OS ( Windows 10 Mobile ) ends on December 10, 2019.

Comparison between Android and iOS:

                        

Nowadays, Android and iOS are two leading                                                  

mobile phone OS. Here I compare two OS on the basis of some features.


Source Model:

Android  is an Open Source.

iOS  is a Closed Source.


Hardware:

 Google provides Android OS  to many mobile phone manufacturer ( Samsung, Sony, HTC, etc. ). So, the phone with Android OS are available in various specification (i.e, many model of different brand is available).

iOS only available for the model manufactured by Apple.


Battery life:


 Battery life mainly depends on the energy storing power of a battery. But, for this reason, we cannot ignore the effect of software and hardware issues. 
       In this respect,  iOS optimize the hardware better than Android.

But, nowadays, there are many Android phone which have really a powerful battery.


Security:

In the security issue, iOS is, no doubt, much more secure than Android.

Apple  prioritize user Privacy.

Android  mines the user data for information so as to they sell better ads and products.

Customizablity:

Android is highly customizable. One can change almost everything in User Interface ( UI ).


iOS  is not as customizable as Android.

Updates:

Apple's  iOS  provides a regular updates and security patches.

In contrast, Android doesn't offer such type of regular and consistent updates.