Operating System

Before proceeding to work on Real Time Operating System, it is very important for an Embedded Engineer to understand the basic concepts & fundamentals of operating Systems.

An Operating System(OS) is a collection of system programs that together control the operation of a system. An operating system is a layer of software which takes care of technical aspects of a system's operation. In order to do this, the operating system includes programs that

• Initialize the hardware of the computer system
  
• Provide basic routines for device control
  
• Provide for the management, scheduling and interaction of tasks
  
• Maintain system integrity and handle errors
  

There are many types of operating systems, the complexity of which varies depending upon what type of functions are provided, and for what purpose the system is being used for. The OS can also be classified on how many users performing simultaneously i.e single-user or multi-user.
A general purpose Operating System is able to run number of user programs, games, word processing, business applications, and many more. A general OS can be used to manage many other users through network. A general OS is not dedicated to do a specific user defined task.

In a simple or dedicated operating system, a specific user program takes the gain and takes the control over the system and executes a defined task. This simple OS is used for hardware devices like Security System, petrol pumps, airplanes, video recorders, washing machines, car engines etc.

 

General Purpose OS

Dedicated OS

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