Lecture – 07

Computer Application to Business

Umair Ramzan Sheikh
IT Department
 Contents

• Operating System
• Functions of General Operating System
• Types of Operating Systems
• Single-User/Single-Tasking Operating System
• Single-User/Multi-Tasking Operating System
• Multi-User/Multi-Tasking Operating System

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 Software
• Software is a collection of instructions that enable the user to interact with a
computer and to tell the computer that what to do and how to do.
• System Software
• Systems software includes the programs that are dedicated to managing the
computer itself, such as the operating system, file management utilities, and
disk operating system (or DOS)
• Application Software
• Application software, or simply applications, are often called end-user
programs because they enable the user to complete tasks, such as creating
documents, spreadsheets, databases and publications, doing online research,
sending email, designing graphics, running businesses, and even playing games!
Application software is specific to the task it is designed for and can be as simple
as a calculator application or as complex as a word processing application.
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 Operating System
• Operating system is a system software that enables the
computer hardware to communicate and operate with the
computer software.

• An operating system, or "OS," is software that communicates with

the hardware and allows other programs to run.

• Without a computer operating system, a computer and software

programs would be useless. 

• It control’s computer hardware and interacts with the user and

application software.
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 Operating System
The operating system performs the following functions:

• Displays the on-screen elements with which you interacts – the user
interface.

• Loads programs in to the memory so that you can use them.

• Coordinates how programs work with computer hardware and

software.

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 Functions of General Operating System

1. Booting

• Booting is the process of starting the computer.

• When you turn on the computer that has been powered off
completely, you are performing cold boot.

• A warm boot, by contrast, is the process of using operating system to

restart the computer.

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 Features of General Operating System
2. Providing a User Interface

• You interact with software through its user interface.

• That is, a user interface controls how you enter data and
instructions and how information is displayed on the screen.
• Two types of user interfaces are:

Command Graphical
Line Interface User Interface
(CLI) (GUI)
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 Features of General Operating System
• In a command-line interface, a user types commands or presses special keys on
the keyboard to enter data and instructions.

• Command-line interfaces often are difficult to use because they require exact
spelling, grammar, and punctuation. You also need to remember every
command and its syntax(format).

• Most users today work with a graphical user interface.

• With a graphical user interface (GUI), you interact with visual objects such as
buttons, menus, windows, icons and other graphical objects to issue
commands.

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Features of General Operating System

GUI CLI
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 Features of General Operating System
3. Program Execution, Program Management and Multitasking

• Operating System is responsible for executing the programs by loading

them in to the memory (RAM).
• Operating System also supports multitasking, which is the process of
executing multiple programs simultaneously.
• When a computer is running multiple programs concurrently, one
program is in the foreground and the others are in the background.
• The one in the foreground is the active program, that is, the one you
currently are using.
• The other programs running but not in use are in the background.

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 Features of General Operating System
4. Memory Management

• The purpose of memory management is to optimize the use of random access

memory (RAM).

• The operating system allocates, or assigns, data and instructions to an area of

memory while they are being processed.

• Then, it carefully monitors the contents of memory.

• Finally, the operating system releases these items from being monitored in
memory when the processor no longer requires them.

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 Features of General Operating System
5. Resource Management

• When programs run, they need to use the computer’s memory,

monitor, hard disk drive, printer and other devices (Resources).

• The operating system is the intermediary between programs and

hardware.

• Operating system manages the allocation of these resources to the

programs.

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 Features of General Operating System
6. Virtual Memory

• Virtual memory is a concept in which the operating system allocates a portion of a

storage medium, usually the hard disk, to function as additional RAM.

• As you interact with a program, part of it may be in physical RAM, while the rest of the
program is on the hard disk as virtual memory.

• Because virtual memory is slower than RAM, users may notice the computer slowing
down while it uses virtual memory.

• The operating system uses an area of the hard disk for virtual memory, in which it
swaps (exchanges) data, information, and instructions between memory and storage.
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 Features of General Operating System

• The technique of swapping items between memory and storage is called

paging.

• When an operating system spends much of its time paging, instead of

executing application software, it is said to be thrashing.

• If application software, such as a Web browser, has stopped responding and

the hard disk’s LED blinks repeatedly, the operating system probably is
thrashing.

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 Features of General Operating System
7. Disk and File System Management

• Operating system manages the files and folder on disks with the
help of File System.

• File system is a method of organizing and retrieving files from a

storage medium such as a hard drive.

• Operating systems often provide users with the capability of

managing files and searching for files.
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 Features of General Operating System

• Some of the file systems are:

• File Allocation Table (FAT) - by Microsoft (FAT8, FAT12, FAT16, FAT32)

• New Technology File System (NTFS ) - by Microsoft
• High Performance File System (HPFS ) - by Microsoft & IBM
• Global File System (GFS) – by Red Hat
• Hierarchical File System (HFS) - by Apple Macintosh
• Universal Data Format (UDF) - by Optical Storage Technology Association
• Extended File System (ext) - Linux
• Second Extended File System (ext2) - Linux
• Third Extended File System (ext3) - Linux
• Fourth Extended File System (ext4) - Linux

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 Features of General Operating System
8. Scheduling Jobs

• The operating system determines the order in which jobs are processed.

• A job is an operation the processor performs.

• Jobs include receiving data from an input device, processing instructions, sending
information to an output device, and transferring items from storage to memory and
from memory to storage.

• A multiuser operating system does not always process jobs on a first-come, first-served
basis.

• Sometimes, one user may have a higher priority than other users.
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 Features of General Operating System

• In this case, the operating system adjusts the schedule of jobs.

• For example, if the processor sends five print jobs to a printer, the printer
can print only one document at a time.

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 Features of General Operating System
9. Configuring Devices

• A device driver is a small program that tells the operating system how to
communicate with a specific device.

• Each device on a computer, such as the mouse, keyboard, monitor, printer, and
scanner, has its own specialized set of commands and thus requires its own
specific driver.

• When you boot a computer, the operating system loads each device’s driver.

• If you attach a new device to a computer, such as a printer or scanner, its driver
must be installed before you can use the device.
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 Features of General Operating System

• For many devices, the computer’s operating system includes the necessary
drivers.

• If it does not, you can install the drivers from the CD provided with the
purchased device.

• Today, many devices and operating systems support Plug and Play.

• Plug and Play means the operating system automatically configures new
devices as you install them.

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 Features of General Operating System
10. Sharing Data/Information

• When you copy or move data, it is placed in special space called

as clipboard.

• The Clipboard is a temporary holding space (in RAM) for the

data that is being copied or moved.

• It is used to share data between the applications.

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 Features of General Operating System
11. Providing Utilities

• Operating systems often provide users with some utilities :

• Image Viewer
• Program Uninstaller
• Antivirus
• Firewall
• Backup
• Screen Savers

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 Examples of Operating Systems
• MS-DOS (By Microsoft) • UNIX
• PC-DOS (By IBM) • Ubuntu Linux
• Windows 95 • KUbuntu Linux
• Windows 98 • RedHat Linux
• Windows 2000 • Fedora Linux
• Windows ME (Millennium Edition) • Mac iOS
• Windows Media Center • iPhone OS
• Windows XP • Android
• Windows Vista • Symbian
• Windows 7 • Blackberry OS
• Windows 8 • Windows Phone
• Windows 8.1 • Ubuntu for Mobile
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 Types of Operating System

• Operating Systems can be categorized as:

Single user/ Single-user/ Multi-user/

Single-tasking Multitasking Multitasking

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 Single-User/Single-Tasking Operating System

• An operating system that allows a single user to perform just one task at a
time is a single-user/single tasking operating system.

• Examples of single-tasking OS:

• MS-DOS

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 Single-User/Multi-Tasking Operating System

• A single-user/multi-tasking operating system is one that allows a single user

to perform two or more functions at once.

• The most commonly used personal computers usually run such operating
systems, including:
• Microsoft Windows
• Apple Macintosh iOS

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 Multi-User/Multi-Tasking Operating System
• A multi-user/multi-tasking operating system is an operating system that
allows multiple users to use programs that are simultaneously running on a
single network server; called a terminal server.

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