Information Technology Fundamentals – Working With Operating Systems

Working with Operating Systems

A computer's operating system (OS) is a crucial application that operates on the device. It is a sort of system software that manages computer hardware and software and offers common services to computer programmes. All computers require an operating system to run apps and programmes. They provide a user-friendly interface for interaction between hardware and software.

Major Operating Systems

History

After Steve Jobs left Apple, the operating system today known as OS X began at a firm called NeXT. The initial system, known as NeXTSTEP, was released in 1989, shortly followed by OPENSTEP. When Apple acquired NeXT and rehired Steve Jobs in 1996, the first Apple operating system was based on OPENSTEP. Steve Jobs began leading the development of a programmer-centric OPENSTEP into a more user- and business-friendly version under the Rhapsody project, which was later renamed Apple OS X. In 2001, Apple introduced the first consumer version of OS X. Since its inception, OS X has undergone a number of versions, the most of which have been named after large cats such as the Lion and Snow Leopard. Since the launch of the iPhone, Apple has enhanced OS X's compatibility with iOS, the iPhone and iPad operating systems. OS X has also adopted several design elements from iOS. Today, more than 10% of all computer users are OS X users.

Linux

Linux is the most popular and widely known open source operating system. Linux, as an operating system, is software that resides beneath all other software on a computer, receiving requests from other programmes and transmitting them to the computer's hardware.

Distributions

Ubuntu: Ubuntu, known by many as the most user-friendly Linux kernel, is a Debian-based operating system used for personal, smartphone, and business purposes. Ubuntu's success stems from Unity, its user-friendly UI. Canonical Ltd. now uses and distributes Ubuntu for free.

RedHat: Red Hat, Inc. is an American multinational software firm that provides enterprise communities with open-source software products. Red Hat's enterprise operating system, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and its acquisition of open-source enterprise middleware provider JBoss have become synonymous with the company.

File Systems

File Allocation Table (FAT):

File allocation tables are a form of file system maintained by the operating system on a storage device. The FAT offers a map of the clusters in which each file is stored. It functions by dividing a file disc into distinct clusters. On a FAT file, there are two sorts of clusters:

• Data Clusters: store the contents of files
• Directory Clusters: include metadata for every file (file names, timestamps and starting cluster for the file)

After assigning a unique ID number to each cluster, the FAT file employs a table to monitor which portions of a file were placed in each cluster.

New Technology File System

NTFS, or New Technology File System, is a journaling file system utilised by Microsoft Windows. It can recover recoverable disc faults. NTFS is required for Windows to provide increased stability, to support a high number of spaces, and to encrypt important files. NTFS can store files on discs with capacities greater than 16 terabytes (TB). Unicode character set is supported, and long file names can be created for NTFS storage space.

Commands issued to an operating system

ls is the standard format for all Linux commands. When you use "ls" in the Linux command line, you are instructing the computer to list something. The standard ls command lists the fundamental files and directories. A ls command followed by a - and a letter will list more items based on the letter. For example, " ls -a" will list all files in a directory.