The basic functions of an Operating System is given below.
- An operating system performs basic tasks, such as recognizing input from the keyboard, sending output to the display screen, keeping track of files and directories on the disk and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers. Ensure that different programs and users running at the same time do not interfere with each other.
- Booting the computer – The process of starting or restarting the computer is known as booting. A cold boot is when you turn on a computer that has been turned off completely. A warm boot is the process of using the operating system to restart the computer.
- Provides a user interface – It provide user interacts with software. There are two main types of user interfaces are: command line and a graphical user interface (GUI). With a command line interface, the user interacts with the operating system by typing commands to perform specific tasks.
- Processor Management – It assign processor to different tasks which has to be performed by the computer system.
- Memory Management – It means allocation of main memory and secondary storage areas to the system programs, as well as user programs and data.
- Input and Output Management – It means co-ordination and assignment of the different output and input devices while one or more programs are being executed.
- File System Management – Operating system is also responsible for maintenance of a file system, in which the users are allowed to create, delete and move files.