Operating system: Difference between revisions

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{{as of|2024|09|}}, [[Android (operating system)|Android]] is the most popular operating system with a 46% market share, followed by [[Microsoft Windows]] at 26%, [[iOS]] and [[iPadOS]] at 18%, [[macOS]] at 5%, and [[Linux]] at 1%. Android, iOS, and iPadOS are mobile operating systems, while Windows, macOS, and Linux are desktop operating systems.<ref name="gs.statcounter.com">{{Cite web |title=Operating System Market Share Worldwide |url=https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share |access-date=2024-12-20 |website=StatCounter Global Stats |language=en}}</ref> [[Linux distribution]]s are dominant in the server and supercomputing sectors. Other specialized classes of operating systems (special-purpose operating systems),<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/operating-system-concepts/9780471694663/pt07.html|title=VII. Special-Purpose Systems - Operating System Concepts, Seventh Edition [Book]|website=www.oreilly.com|access-date=8 February 2021|archive-date=13 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613190049/https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/operating-system-concepts/9780471694663/pt07.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.acs.eonerc.rwth-aachen.de/cms/E-ON-ERC-ACS/Studium/Lehrveranstaltungen/~lrhs/Spezial-Betriebssysteme/?lidx=1|title=Special-Purpose Operating Systems - RWTH AACHEN UNIVERSITY Institute for Automation of Complex Power Systems - English|website=www.acs.eonerc.rwth-aachen.de|access-date=8 February 2021|archive-date=14 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614034001/https://www.acs.eonerc.rwth-aachen.de/cms/E-ON-ERC-ACS/Studium/Lehrveranstaltungen/~lrhs/Spezial-Betriebssysteme/?lidx=1|url-status=live}}</ref> such as [[Embedded system|embedded]] and real-time systems, exist for many applications. [[Security-focused operating system]]s also exist. Some operating systems have low system requirements (e.g. [[light-weight Linux distribution]]). Others may have higher system requirements.

Some operating systems require installation or may come pre-installed with purchased computers ([[OEM]]-installation), whereas others may run directly from media (i.e. [[live CD]]) or flash memory (i.e. a LiveUSB from a [[USB flash drive|USB]] stick).

==Definition and purpose==

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There are three main purposes that an operating system fulfills:{{sfn|Anderson|Dahlin|2014|p=7}}

*Operating systems allocate resources between different applications, deciding when they will receive [[central processing unit]] (CPU) time or space in [[computer memory|memory]].{{sfn|Anderson|Dahlin|2014|p=7}} On modern [[personal computerscomputer]]s, users often want to run several applications at once. In order to ensure that one program cannot monopolize the computer's limited hardware resources, the operating system gives each application a share of the resource, either in time (CPU) or space (memory).{{sfn|Anderson|Dahlin|2014|pp=9–10}}{{sfn|Tanenbaum|Bos|2023|pp=6-7}} The operating system also must isolate applications from each other to protect them from errors and security vulnerabilities in another application's code, but enable communications between different applications.{{sfn|Anderson|Dahlin|2014|p=10}}

*Operating systems provide an interface that abstracts the details of accessing [[Computer hardware|hardware]] details (such as physical memory) to make things easier for programmers.{{sfn|Anderson|Dahlin|2014|p=7}}{{sfn|Tanenbaum|Bos|2023|p=5}} [[Virtualization]] also enables the operating system to mask limited hardware resources; for example, [[virtual memory]] can provide a program with the illusion of nearly unlimited memory that exceeds the computer's actual memory.{{sfn|Anderson|Dahlin|2014|p=11}}

*Operating systems provide common services, such as an interface for accessing network and disk devices. This enables an application to be run on different hardware without needing to be rewritten.{{sfn|Anderson|Dahlin|2014|pp=7, 9, 13}} Which services to include in an operating system varies greatly, and this functionality makes up the great majority of code for most operating systems.{{sfn|Anderson|Dahlin|2014|pp=12–13}}

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If an application is written for use on a specific operating system, and is [[ported]] to another OS, the functionality required by that application may be implemented differently by that OS (the names of functions, meaning of arguments, etc.) requiring the application to be adapted, changed, or otherwise [[software maintenance|maintained]].<!--There really ought to be a discussion of ''software modules'' somewhere, such as those that are neither API's nor Plug-Ins (not sure what those are), but which are either hard (on cartridge), soft (on diskette), or otherwise installable by downloading). -->

This cost in supporting operating systems diversity can be avoided by instead writing applications againstfor [[software platform]]s such as [[Java (software platform)|Java]] or [[Qt (software)|Qt]]. These abstractions have already borne the cost of adaptation to specific operating systems and their [[system library|system libraries]].

Another approach is for operating system vendors to adopt standards. For example, [[POSIX]] and [[operating system abstraction layer|OS abstraction layers]] provide commonalities that reduce porting costs.

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{{Further|Usage share of operating systems|Comparison of operating systems}}

{{as of|2024|09|}}, [[Android (operating system)|Android]] (based on the Linux kernel) is the most popular operating system with a 46% market share, followed by [[Microsoft Windows]] at 26%, [[iOS]] and [[iPadOS]] at 18%, [[macOS]] at 5%, and [[Linux]] at 1%. Android, iOS, and iPadOS are [[mobile operating system]]s, while Windows, macOS, and Linux are desktop operating systems.<ref name="gs.statcounter.com"/>

===Linux===

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* [[Network operating system]]

* [[Object-oriented operating system]]

* [[Lisp machine]]

* [[Operating System Projects]]

* [[System Commander]]

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* {{cite book | last = Bic| first = Lubomur F. |author2=Shaw, Alan C. | title = Operating Systems | publisher = [[Prentice Hall]] | year = 2003 | ___location = Pearson }}

* {{cite book | last = Silberschatz | first = Avi |author2=Galvin, Peter |author3=Gagne, Greg | title = Operating Systems Concepts | publisher = [[John Wiley & Sons]] | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-0-470-12872-5 }}

* {{cite book |last1=O'Brien, |first1=J. A., & |last2=Marakas, |first2=G. M.( |date=2011). ''|title=Management Information Systems''. 10e.|edition=10th |publisher=McGraw-Hill Irwin.}}

* {{cite book |last1=Leva |first1=Alberto |last2=Maggio |first2=Martina |last3=Papadopoulos |first3=Alessandro Vittorio |last4=Terraneo |first4=Federico |title=Control-based Operating System Design |publisher=[[Institution of Engineering and Technology|IET]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-84919-609-3}}

*{{cite journal |last1=Richet |first1=Jean-Loup |last2=Bouaynaya |first2=Wafa |title=Understanding and Managing Complex Software Vulnerabilities: An Empirical Analysis of Open-Source Operating Systems |journal=Systèmes d'information & management |date=2023 |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=87–114 |doi=10.54695/sim.28.1.0087 |doi-broken-date=112 NovemberJuly 20242025 |url=https://www.cairn.info/revue-systemes-d-information-et-management-2023-1-page-87.htm.}}

*{{cite book |last1=Silberschatz |first1=Abraham |last2=Galvin |first2=Peter B. |last3=Gagne |first3=Greg |title=Operating System Concepts |date=2018 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1-119-32091-3 |edition=10 |url=https://archive.org/details/operating-system-concepts-10th |language=en-us|ref={{sfnref|Silberschatz et al.|2018}}}}

*{{cite book |last1=Tanenbaum |first1=Andrew S. |last2=Bos |first2=Herbert |title=Modern Operating Systems, Global Edition |date=2023 |publisher=Pearson Higher Ed |isbn=978-1-292-72789-9 |language=en}}