1.5.3

Operating System Managers

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User Interfaces

The user interface allows users to interact with a computer system.

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Command line interfaces

  • A command line interface (CLI) is an environment where the computer is controlled by typing text commands using the keyboard.
  • The computer cannot display graphics, only text.
  • CLIs use less memory than graphical interfaces.
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Graphical user interfaces

  • Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) are more modern environments to work in.
  • GUIs are usually based on the window-icon-menu-pointer paradigm or a multi-touch interface.
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WIMP

  • WIMP stands for window-icon-menu-pointer:
    • Applications can be seen in movable, resizable windows.
    • Programs and documents are represented by icons.
    • Options are available via menus.
    • User interaction is through moving a pointer.

Memory and Process Management

As with all hardware in the computer, the memory (RAM) and central processing unit (CPU) must be managed by a part of the operating system.

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Purpose of memory manager

  • The memory manager controls the allocation of random access memory (RAM) to each running process.
  • If the memory manager fails to manage memory well, then the computer will slow down and might crash.
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Purpose of process manager

  • Modern operating systems allow users to run multiple programs at once.
  • In reality, a CPU can only execute one process at a time. So the CPU must switch between processes so quickly that it seems that they are running simultaneously.
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Multitasking

  • Modern operating systems allow multiple applications to run at once. This is known as multitasking.
  • For this to work, the operating system must manage how memory and CPU time is allocated to each running process.

Jump to other topics

1Computer Systems

1.1Systems Architecture

1.2Memory & Storage

1.3Computer Networks, Connections & Protocols

1.4Network Security

1.5Systems Software

1.6Ethical, Legal, Cultural & Environmental Concern

2Computational Thinking, Algorithms and Programming

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