operating system

3 definitions found

operating system - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  operating system
      n 1: (computer science) software that controls the execution of
           computer programs and may provide various services [syn:
           operating system, OS]

operating system - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  operating system
  
     <operating system> (OS) The low-level software which handles
     the interface to peripheral hardware, schedules tasks,
     allocates storage, and presents a default interface to the
     user when no application program is running.
  
     The OS may be split into a kernel which is always present
     and various system programs which use facilities provided by
     the kernel to perform higher-level house-keeping tasks,
     often acting as servers in a client-server relationship.
  
     Some would include a graphical user interface and window system
      as part of the OS, others would not.  The operating system loader
     , BIOS, or other firmware required at boot time
      or when installing the operating system would generally
     not be considered part of the operating system, though this
     distinction is unclear in the case of a rommable operating system
      such as RISC OS.
  
     The facilities an operating system provides and its general
     design philosophy exert an extremely strong influence on
     programming style and on the technical cultures that grow up
     around the machines on which it runs.
  
     Example operating systems include 386BSD, AIX, AOS,
     Amoeba, Angel, Artemis microkernel, BeOS, Brazil,
     COS, CP/M, CTSS, Chorus, DACNOS, DOSEXEC 2,
     GCOS, GEORGE 3, GEOS, ITS, KAOS, Linux, LynxOS,
     MPV, MS-DOS, MVS, Mach, Macintosh operating system,
     Microsoft Windows, MINIX, Multics, Multipop-68,
     Novell NetWare, OS-9, OS/2, Pick, Plan 9, QNX,
     RISC OS, STING, System V, System/360, TOPS-10,
     TOPS-20, TRUSIX, TWENEX, TYMCOM-X, Thoth, Unix,
     VM/CMS, VMS, VRTX, VSTa, VxWorks, WAITS.
  
     FAQ (ftp://src.doc.ic.ac.uk/usenet/news-info/comp.os.research)
     .
  
     Usenet newsgroup: news:comp.os.research.
  
     [Jargon File]
  
     (1999-06-09)
  

operating system - Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003) :

  operating system
   n.
  
     [techspeak] (Often abbreviated `OS') The foundation software of a
     machine; that which schedules tasks, allocates storage, and presents
  a
     default interface to the user between applications. The facilities an
     operating system provides and its general design philosophy exert an
     extremely strong influence on programming style and on the technical
     cultures that grow up around its host machines. Hacker folklore has
     been shaped primarily by the Unix, ITS, TOPS-10,
     TOPS-20/TWENEX, WAITS, CP/M, MS-DOS, and Multics
  operating
     systems (most importantly by ITS and Unix). See also timesharing.