What is an operating system

What is an operating system?

Answer:

The operating system can be evaluated from different angles:
An operating system is a number of files, which are read from the hard disk at the end of of the PC
start-up routine.

An operating system is a program layer. It connects to the the PC hardware, to facilitate optimal
execution of the user programs.

The first definition does not say much. Let us start with the second: The operating systems links software
and hardware together. It has to enable user programs, like Works, Office, etc., to function with all
possible hardware configurations. You can imagine the relationship between hardware and user
programs thus:
Hardware is clumsy and dissimilar. There are untold variations of PC's. They can have one or
another type hard disk, CPU, video card, etc. All of these various PC configurations behave each in
their own way.

The use programs are 100% similar. They are off the shelf products, which expect the PC to
respond in a certain manner.

How do we make these two layers work together? Can we eliminate out the differences in the PC
hardware, so a standard product like Works just functions? Yes we can. We read in an operating system
- a system layer, which smoothes out and standardizes the hardware:

You should understand the operating system as a necessary layer, which smoothes out bumps and pot
holes in your PC's hardware. This will give the user programs a stable, even work platform.