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<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <title>operating system from FOLDOC</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Security-Policy" content="default-src 'unsafe-inline' http: https:"> <meta name="verify-v1" content="siAI0ZOMn41hao0E/T76D1I2L3MtFjzE48P3ctCjRNU="> <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="#da532c"> <meta name="theme-color" content="#ffffff"> <meta name="google-translate-customization" content="828219db36930e1e-c51d915bf2ea717c-g9b503f9a85d5b5a7-a">  <script src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=UA-9715943-1"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'UA-9715943-1'); </script>  <link href="//fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Duru+Sans%7CBelgrano%7CInconsolata%7CAlef%7CArmata" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/layout.css?2">  <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="152x152" href="/im/apple-touch-icon.png"> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="32x32" href="/im/favicon-32x32.png"> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="16x16" href="/im/favicon-16x16.png"> <link rel="manifest" href="/im/site.webmanifest"> <link rel="mask-icon" href="/im/safari-pinned-tab.svg" color="#5bbad5"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://foldoc.org/operating+system"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="FOLDOC" href="/rss.xml"> <link rel="search" title="FOLDOC" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="//foldoc.org/search.xml">  <script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-5521724329338202" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>  </head> <body> <div id="fb-root"></div> <script> (function (d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); </script> <div id="container"> <div id="left"> <a href="/"> <img src="/foldoc.gif" width="300" height="98" alt="Free On-line Dictionary of Computing" class="logo"> </a> <div id="nav"> <a href="/contents.html" class="button">Contents</a> <a href="/help.html" class="button">Help</a> <a href="/random-entry" class="button">Random</a> </div> <form action="/"> <input type="text" name="query" id="query" autofocus="autofocus"> <input type="submit" name="action" value="Search" class="button"> </form> <div id="content"> <h2>operating system</h2> <p></p> <p><<i><a href="contents/operating-system.html">operating system</a></i>></p> <p> (OS) The low-level <a href="/software">software</a> which handles the interface to <a href="/peripheral">peripheral</a> <a href="/hardware">hardware</a>, schedules <a href="/tasks">tasks</a>, allocates <a href="/storage">storage</a>, and presents a default <a href="/interface">interface</a> to the user when no <a href="/application+program">application program</a> is running. <p></p> The OS may be split into a <a href="/kernel">kernel</a> which is always present and various system programs which use facilities provided by the kernel to perform higher-level <a href="/house-keeping">house-keeping</a> tasks, often acting as <a href="/servers">servers</a> in a <a href="/client-server">client-server</a> relationship. <p></p> Some would include a <a href="/graphical+user+interface">graphical user interface</a> and <a href="/window+system">window system</a> as part of the OS, others would not. The <a href="/operating+system+loader">operating system loader</a>, <a href="/BIOS">BIOS</a>, or other <a href="/firmware">firmware</a> required at <a href="/boot+time">boot time</a> 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 <a href="/rommable+operating+system">rommable operating system</a> such as <a href="/RISC+OS">RISC OS</a>. <p></p> 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. <p></p> Example operating systems include <a href="/386BSD">386BSD</a>, <a href="/AIX">AIX</a>, <a href="/AOS">AOS</a>, <a href="/Amoeba">Amoeba</a>, <a href="/Angel">Angel</a>, <a href="/Artemis+microkernel">Artemis microkernel</a>, <a href="/BeOS">BeOS</a>, <a href="/Brazil">Brazil</a>, <a href="/COS">COS</a>, <a href="/CP/M">CP/M</a>, <a href="/CTSS">CTSS</a>, <a href="/Chorus">Chorus</a>, <a href="/DACNOS">DACNOS</a>, <a href="/DOSEXEC+2">DOSEXEC 2</a>, <a href="/GCOS">GCOS</a>, <a href="/GEORGE+3">GEORGE 3</a>, <a href="/GEOS">GEOS</a>, <a href="/ITS">ITS</a>, <a href="/KAOS">KAOS</a>, <a href="/Linux">Linux</a>, <a href="/LynxOS">LynxOS</a>, <a href="/MPV">MPV</a>, <a href="/MS-DOS">MS-DOS</a>, <a href="/MVS">MVS</a>, <a href="/Mach">Mach</a>, <a href="/Macintosh+operating+system">Macintosh operating system</a>, <a href="/Microsoft+Windows">Microsoft Windows</a>, <a href="/MINIX">MINIX</a>, <a href="/Multics">Multics</a>, <a href="/Multipop-68">Multipop-68</a>, <a href="/Novell+NetWare">Novell NetWare</a>, <a href="/OS-9">OS-9</a>, <a href="/OS/2">OS/2</a>, <a href="/Pick">Pick</a>, <a href="/Plan+9">Plan 9</a>, <a href="/QNX">QNX</a>, <a href="/RISC+OS">RISC OS</a>, <a href="/STING">STING</a>, <a href="/System+V">System V</a>, <a href="/System/360">System/360</a>, <a href="/TOPS-10">TOPS-10</a>, <a href="/TOPS-20">TOPS-20</a>, <a href="/TRUSIX">TRUSIX</a>, <a href="/TWENEX">TWENEX</a>, <a href="/TYMCOM-X">TYMCOM-X</a>, <a href="/Thoth">Thoth</a>, <a href="/Unix">Unix</a>, <a href="/VM/CMS">VM/CMS</a>, <a href="/VMS">VMS</a>, <a href="/VRTX">VRTX</a>, <a href="/VSTa">VSTa</a>, <a href="/VxWorks">VxWorks</a>, <a href="/WAITS">WAITS</a>. <p></p> <em><a href="ftp://src.doc.ic.ac.uk/usenet/news-info/comp.os.research">FAQ</a></em>. <p></p> <a href="/Usenet">Usenet</a> newsgroup: <a href="https://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.research">comp.os.research</a>. <p></p> [<a href="/Jargon+File">Jargon File</a>] <p></p> <p class="updated">Last updated: <a href="/new.html">1999-06-09</a></p> <p></p> <p class="vertical-space"></p><h3>Nearby terms:</h3> <p class="neighbours"> <a href="/operating">operating</a> &diams; <b><a href="/operating+system">operating system</a></b> &diams; <a href="/Operating+System/360">Operating System/360</a> &diams; <a href="/Operating+System/Multiprogramming+of+Fixed+Tasks">Operating System/Multiprogramming of Fixed Tasks</a> </p> <p> Try this search on <a href="https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=operating+system">Wikipedia</a>, <a href="https://www.wiktionary.org/wiki/operating+system">Wiktionary</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=define:operating+system">Google</a>, <a href="https://www.onelook.com/?w=operating+system">OneLook</a>. </p> <p class="vertical-space"></p> <hr> <div></div> <hr>  <div id="HCB_comment_box">Loading</div> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="//www.htmlcommentbox.com/static/skins/bootstrap/twitter-bootstrap.css?v=0"> <script language="javascript" id="hcb"> hcb_user = { PAGE: 'https://foldoc.org/operating+system', comments_header: ' ', no_comments_msg: ' ', err_comment_empty: 'Your comment was not posted because it was empty!', rss: '', }; 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