What is an operating system?

Question

Can you explain to be what a computer operating system is please?

Operating system examples - Windows XP etc.

Answer 1

it is a program that runs the computer this is my definition not wiki pedia



it operates it thats why its called an OS operating system



other old examples are Windows 98,ME,2000,Xp,Vista,7

& more other examples are ubuntu, Mac, Linux



they just run the computer



now from wiki

An operating system (OS) is software, consisting of programs and data, that runs on computers and manages the computer hardware and provides common services for efficient execution of various application software.

For hardware functions such as input and output and memory allocation, the operating system acts as an intermediary between application programs and the computer hardware,[1][2] although the application code is usually executed directly by the hardware, but will frequently call the OS or be interrupted by it. Operating systems are found on almost any device that contains a computer—from cellular phones and video game consoles to supercomputers and web servers.

Examples of popular modern operating systems for personal computers are Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and GNU/Linux



here try this link for more info

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating_system



if my answer makes any sense then please select it as best & give me a thumbs up & don't put it to vote.

Answer 2

An operating system (OS) is software, consisting of programs and data, that runs on computers and manages the computer hardware and provides common services for efficient execution of various application software.



For hardware functions such as input and output and memory allocation, the operating system acts as an intermediary between application programs and the computer hardware, although the application code is usually executed directly by the hardware, but will frequently call the OS or be interrupted by it. Operating systems are found on almost any device that contains a computer—from cellular phones and video game consoles to supercomputers and web servers.



Examples of popular modern operating systems for personal computers are Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and GNU/Linux.



Here is a list of operating systems: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_operating_systems

Answer 3

An operating system (OS) is software, consisting of programs and data, that runs on computers and manages the computer hardware and provides common services for efficient execution of various application software.



For hardware functions such as input and output and memory allocation, the operating system acts as an intermediary between application programs and the computer hardware, although the application code is usually executed directly by the hardware, but will frequently call the OS or be interrupted by it. Operating systems are found on almost any device that contains a computer—from cellular phones and video game consoles to supercomputers and web servers.



Examples of popular modern operating systems for personal computers are Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and GNU/Linux.

Answer 4

An operating system (OS) is software, consisting of programs and data, that runs on computers and manages the computer hardware and provides common services for efficient execution of various application software

Answer 5

Short and simple, an Operating System is the core software you need to be able to actually 'use' your computer (run programs,create/edit/view files and documents, etc.). You can run additional software and games by installing them on your machine, but they will not run without the operating system installed prior. It acts as a 'foundation' for other/lesser programs. Those programs actually refer to the data provided by the OS to perform specific tasks.