The main function of an operating system is to serve as a bridge between hardware and a user, preventing the user from having to use a low-level or machine-level language to use this hardware.
A low-level language is a language that the machine uses and makes use of more complex syntax. There is no intuitiveness in its understanding since the machine language consists only of sequences of 0 and 1, the so-called binary code.
Therefore, what the user requires, a click, a touch on the screen, or the press of a button, can trigger a huge list of actions invisible to the eyes and produces a seemingly simple result, like just opening your web browser. Despite this main function, an operating system has other functions:
- File System
Different operating systems use different file systems, which in turn encompass the rules for how data is stored on storage media (HD, SSD, memory card, flash drive, etc.).
Spreadsheets, photos, videos, other programs, and the same set of programs that make up the operating system need to be kept in non-volatile memories, with your notebook’s HD or micro-SD card in your smartphone. How this storage occurs is crucial for this content to be accessible to the user and other programs that produce or use such data.
But a file system must also consider security aspects, such as what privileges a user has to change content. Imagine how disastrous it can be if you inadvertently have access to change the file corresponding to the OS kernel?!
- Manage Processes
System processes are nothing more than running service actions, a program, and the operating system itself. So, when you send a job to the company’s Wi-Fi printer for printing, there must be a process related to the Wi-Fi network, another one related to the print spooler, which you don’t need to know what it is and how it works, but that if it’s not there, the thing doesn’t happen. There are more, but these are enough to make it easier to understand what is happening. These two processes must occur according to criteria, such as order, privileges, and priorities, which in practice means the order in which each thing must happen, if the network service has access to the printer, which data will be sent first, in addition to the consumption of RAM. Processor usage, network usage.
Once printing is complete, it is up to the OS to verify that the allocated memory has been freed and is available for use by another process. The corresponding process must be terminated.
This is because a process can consume memory, processing, and, among other things, electrical energy, which in the case of a smartphone or notebook disconnected from the socket means shorter battery life.
- Manage Memory
RAM is fundamental to the functioning of any device. This is where the data necessary for the operation of any programs, the operating system itself, and the data in use by the user, such as playing a song or viewing a video, for example, are kept. As much as a system has a lot of RAMS, it is finite. Its consumption can easily deplete the amount available if the operating system is not efficient in its management. Most systems start to show slowness and even crash when consumption approaches 100%. Therefore, effective memory management is essential. For free consultation (ปรึกษาฟรี which is the term in Thai) you can visit websites about social media to learn more.