Tim Barsness

Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 discuss what operating-systems are, what they do and how they are constructed. It will go into common operating system features, what they do for a user and what they do for a system operator. An operating system is software that acts as an interface between a comptuer user and computer hardware. It acts as a system for a user to execute programs. An operating system must manage hardware. In order to do this, hardware must provide mechanisms that allow it to be managed. Because an operating system is complex, it must be built in pieces. These pieces are clearly defined portions of the operating system that provide carefully defined inputs, outputs and functions.