5.1.1.2 Basic Functions of an Operating System

Windows API

Allows applications from older versions of Windows to operate on newer versions

DirectX

Collection of APIs related to multimedia tasks for Microsoft Windows

Java APIs

Collection of APIs related to the development of Java programming

Regardless of the size and complexity of the computer and the operating system, all operating systems perform the same four basic functions:

Control hardware access Manage files and folders Provide a user interface Manage applications

Open Graphics Library (OpenGL) -

Cross-platform standard specification for multimedia graphics

File and Folder Management

The OS creates a file structure on the hard disk drive to store data. A file is a block of related data that is given a single name and treated as a single unit.

User Interface

The OS enables the user to interact with the software and hardware. Operating systems include two types of user interfaces:

Application Management

The OS locates an application and loads it into the RAM of the computer. Applications are software programs, such as word processors, databases, spreadsheets, and games. The OS allocates available system resources to running applications.

Hardware Access

The OS manages the interaction between applications and the hardware.

Graphical user interface (GUI)

The user interacts with menus and icons, as shown in Figure 2.

Command-line interface (CLI)

The user types commands at a prompt, as shown in Figure 1.