What are multi–user Operating Systems (OS) and multi–task Operating Systems (OS)
What is an Operating System (OS)
An Operating System (OS) is the main software of a computing device. The Operating System of a computer is the interface between the computer hardware and the end users. The Operating System of a computer also manages the software installed on the computer. An Operating System controls all the interactions between its users, software installed on it and the underlying hardware resources.
Main functions of an Operating System are listed below
- Processor Management
- Hardware Components Management
- Resource Allocation
- Multi–processing Management
- Multi–user Management
- Task Management
- Memory Management and Allocation
- Virtual Memory Management
- File Management
What is a multi–user Operating System (OS)
Now, let us discuss about multi–user Operating Systems (OS).
A Multi–user Operating System (OS) is a type of Operating System where we can create multiple users and allows multiple users to access the Operating System and its resources simultaneously. Multi–user Operating Systems (OS) are far complex than the previous old–model single–user Operating Systems. These days almost all Operating Systems available in the market are multi–user Operating Systems. Some examples of multi–user Server Operating Systems are Windows 2016, Windows 2019, Windows 2022, Windows 2025, IBM Z/OS, Unix, Linux etc.
What is a multi–task Operating System (OS)
Multi–tasking Operating Systems (OS) allow different processes to run at same time in a computer. The common type of multi–tasking is preemptive multitasking. In preemptive multitasking, Operating System shares different processes with different computing resources. Almost all computer Operating Systems currently we have are multi–tasking Operating Systems (OS).
Written by Jajish Thomas.
Last updated on 27th July, 2024.