Selecting an Operating System

Saeed AlSawadGrade 10 A.B

What Is an OS?he operating system is the most

important program that runs on a computer. Every computer must have an operating system to run other programs.

What Is a Kernel?the kernel is a computer program that

manages input/output requests from software, and translates them into data processing instructions for the central processing unit and other electronic components of a computer.

Graphical user interfaces A graphical user interface (GUI) is an

improvement on a text-mode shell, at least from the perspective of a beginning user

Utility programs Modern OSs invariably ship with a wide

variety of simple utility programs calculators, calendars, text editors, disk maintenance tools, and so on. These programs differ from one OS to another.

Libraries they provide critical services to programs.

Libraries are collections of programming functions that can be used by a variety of programs.

Productivity programsMajor productivity programs Web browsers,

word processors, graphics editors, and so on are the usual reason for using a computer

Program launchers You can launch programs by selecting them

from menus or lists. Typically, one or more menus exist along the top, bottom, or side of the screen

File managersLinux provides GUI file managers similar to

those in Windows or Mac OS X.

Window controls You can move windows by clicking and

dragging their title bars, resize them by clicking and dragging their edges, and so on.

Multiple desktopsMost Linux desktop environments enable you

to keep multiple virtual desktops active, each with its own set of programs. This feature is very handy to keep the screen uncluttered while you run many programs simultaneously.

Logout options You can log out of your Linux session, which

enables you to shut down the computer or let another user log in.

Comparing Linux to UnixIf you were to attempt to draw a “family tree”

of OSs, you would end up scratching your head a lot. This is because OS designers often mimic each other’s features, and sometimes even incorporate each other’s code into their OSs’ workings.

The Linux kernel The Linux kernel was designed to be

compatible with other Unix kernels, in the sense that it used the same software interfaces in source code.

The GNU project The GNU’s Not Unix (GNU) project is an

effort by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) to develop open source replacements for all the core elements of a Unix OS

Desktop environmentsGNOME, KDE, Xfce, and other popular open

source desktop environments have largely displaced commercial desktop environments even on commercial versions of Unix.

Server programs Historically, Unix and Linux have been

popular as server Oss organizations use them to run Web servers, e-mail servers, file servers, and so on.

User productivity programsIn this realm, as in server programs, Linux

runs the same software as do other Unix-like OSs. In a few cases, Linux runs more programs, or runs them better.

5 Linux Commandcprmmvcathelp

InformationI got the information from the “cyber Linux

essentials” book