Operating Systems #1: Purpose
software
A general term used to describe computer programs such as applications and operating systems.
mainframe
A large expensive, powerful computer that can handle hundreds or thousands of connected users simultaneously.
time-slicing
A method of implementing a multi-tasking operating system, by allocating tiny slices of time to different tasks and rapidly switching between them
desktop computer
A non-portable computer for personal use. Normally consists of a system unit, monitor, keyboard and other peripherals. Easily upgradeable.
Windows
A personal computer operating system designed by Microsoft
OS X
A personal computer operating system designed for Apple computers
operating system
A set of programs that manage the computer hardware resources and provides common services to applications
smartphone
A small, portable computing device used for making phone calls, accessing the internet and running a variety of simple apps.
supercomputer
A very fast, very expensive computer used for processing very large amounts of data and performing extremely intensive calculations.
API
Abbreviation for Application Program Interface
hardware
All of the physical parts of a computer (monitor, printer, mouse, keyboard, modem, etc.)
MS-DOS
An early command-line operating system for personal computers. It was single-user and single-tasking.
Android
An operating system designed by Google for mobile devices
iOS
An operating system designed for Apple mobile devices.
single-tasking
An operating system that can only perform a single task at a time
multi-tasking
An operating system that can perform more than one task at a time
batch-processing
An operating system that completely executes one program through to completion before starting the next. Often used for end-of-day processes and for processing large amounts of data.
single-user
An operating system that does not distinguish between users.
real-time
An operating system that is designed to respond to online transactions immediately
Linux
An operating system that is used extensively for servers, networking and data centre infrastructure
multi-user
An operating system that manages user profiles and shares disk space between several users.
application program
Computer software that performs a specific task
Unix
The ancestor of most modern multi-user, multi-tasking operating systems, except for Microsoft Windows
Application Program Interface
The interface that allows application programs to make use of the services provided by an operating system.
