Operating system Tasks

Tasks performed by an operating system can be divided into four areas. The following section will describe each one separately.

Process Management

A process is an executing program. Each process contains its own code, data,and set of resources allocated for it such as input/output devices, memory,etc. and one or more “flows” of execution through its code. Therefore from process management it will control the processes and applications access of CPU so that each has its fair share.

Memory Management

At least memory must be shared between one application program and the operating system. But in complex systems, memory can be shared by a number of processes. Hence from memory management it will control different types of memories to allocate space for different applications.

File System Management

Computers process information. Therefore information must be transmitted,processed and stored. A file system is an abstract entity for storing or transmitting a collection of information. Therefore operating system will manage the file system within the computer.

Device Management

A computer communicates information through its input and output devices.Therefore operating system will control devices, mainly through their drivers.