Operating systems: the manager inside every device
الأسبوع 4 · الدرس ٣ «أنظمة التشغيل»: تعريفه ووظائفه والأجهزة التي تعمل بأنظمة تشغيل وسطح المكتب · 3 دروس
1
What an operating system does
ICT Prep 1 Term 1, Lesson 3: pp. 19–26
GoalExplain what an operating system is and name its five jobs.
New words
operating system · the main software between the user, the devices and the other programshardware · the parts of a device that you can touchsoftware · the programs that tell the hardware what to dointerface · what the user sees and uses to talk to the device
Explanation
Switch on a computer and something starts before you open any program: the operating system. It is an interface between the user, the devices and the programs. It manages the hardware, runs all the other programs and helps the user to finish tasks easily. Think of a head teacher who arranges rooms, time and rules, so that every class can work without bumping into the others. The operating system has five main jobs. It provides the user interface, the part you see and touch. It does memory management, sharing the working memory between programs. It does file-system management, keeping files and folders in order so that they can be found. It does hardware management, controlling the keyboard, screen, printer and other parts. And it takes care of security and protection, deciding who may enter and keeping files safe.
Job
What it does
Like…
User interface
lets you see and touch what is on the device
the school’s front desk
Memory management
shares working memory between programs
sharing desks between classes
File-system management
keeps files and folders in order
library shelves with labels
Hardware management
controls keyboard, screen, printer
the keeper of school equipment
Security and protection
decides who may enter and guards files
the school gate guard
Worked examples
key pressed→system passes it on→program asks to show it→letter on the screen
Marwan presses a key on the keyboard. The keyboard is hardware, so the operating system notices the press and passes it to the program he is using. The program asks the system to show the letter, and the letter appears on the screen.
Salma plays music while she draws. Two programs are running at once. The operating system gives each program its own share of the working memory, so the music does not spoil the drawing.
folder “My school”→folder “Art”→picture file
Karim saves a picture in a folder called “Art”, inside a folder called “My school”. Next week he follows the same path of folders and finds it at once. This is file-system management.
Class activity
Draw the operating system as a circle in the middle of a page. Around it draw five boxes, one for each job, and an arrow from the circle to each box. Under each box write one sentence about the school comparison from the table. Show it to a family member and explain which job you think is the most important.
Practice
1
What is an operating system?
An interface between the user, the devices and the programs. It manages the hardware and runs the other programs.
2
Name the five jobs of an operating system.
User interface; memory management; file-system management; hardware management; security and protection.
3
Which job keeps files and folders in order?
File-system management.
4
Is a printer hardware or software? Is a drawing program hardware or software?
A printer is hardware. A drawing program is software.
