operating system

noun, Computers.
1.
the collection of software that directs a computer's operations, controlling and scheduling the execution of other programs, and managing storage, input/output, and communication resources.
Abbreviation: OS.
Origin
1960-65
Examples from the web for operating system
  • Depending on your operating system, you will find the cache folder in one of the locations below.
  • Information thieves can now go around encryption, networks and the operating system.
  • But the situation is already awful in plug and play operating system land.
  • However, as we'll see below, the choice now depends more on the type of work you do and not on the operating system.
  • In the top right hand corner of the screen, the version of your current operating system will be displayed.
  • Apple's mobile operating system is one of the wonders of the technology world.
  • Testing clients may have an operating system imposed maximum number of out-bound connections.
  • The company unveils the technical details of its operating system.
  • When you install the application, the operating system lists the capabilities that the application needs to run.
  • For many users, repairing the problem meant reinstalling their entire operating system.
British Dictionary definitions for operating system

operating system

noun
1.
the set of software that controls the overall operation of a computer system, typically by performing such tasks as memory allocation, job scheduling, and input/output control
operating system in Science
operating system
  (ŏp'ə-rā'tĭng)   
Software designed to handle basic elements of computer operation, such as sending instructions to hardware devices like disk drives and computer screens, and allocating system resources such as memory to different software applications being run. Given uniformly designed operating systems that run on many different computers, developers of software do not need to concern themselves with these problems, and are provided with a standard platform for new programs.
operating system in Culture
operating system (OS)

The software that allows computer users to run applications with the hardware of a specific system. Microsoft® Windows® or Apple® Computer's OS are examples of operating systems.

operating system in Technology
operating system
(OS) The low-level software which handles the interface to peripheral hardware, schedules tasks, allocates storage, and presents a default interface to the user when no application program is running.
The OS may be split into a kernel which is always present and various system programs which use facilities provided by the kernel to perform higher-level house-keeping tasks, often acting as servers in a client-server relationship.
Some would include a graphical user interface and window system as part of the OS, others would not. The operating system loader, BIOS, or other firmware required at boot time or when installing the operating system would generally not be considered part of the operating system, though this distinction is unclear in the case of a rommable operating system such as RISC OS.
The facilities an operating system provides and its general design philosophy exert an extremely strong influence on programming style and on the technical cultures that grow up around the machines on which it runs.
Example operating systems include 386BSD, AIX, AOS, Amoeba, Angel, Artemis microkernel, BeOS, Brazil, COS, CP/M, CTSS, Chorus, DACNOS, DOSEXEC 2, GCOS, GEORGE 3, GEOS, ITS, KAOS, Linux, LynxOS, MPV, MS-DOS, MVS, Mach, Macintosh operating system, Microsoft Windows, MINIX, Multics, Multipop-68, Novell NetWare, OS-9, OS/2, Pick, Plan 9, QNX, RISC OS, STING, System V, System/360, TOPS-10, TOPS-20, TRUSIX, TWENEX, TYMCOM-X, Thoth, Unix, VM/CMS, VMS, VRTX, VSTa, VxWorks, WAITS.
FAQ (ftp://src.doc.ic.ac.uk/usenet/news-info/comp.os.research).
Usenet newsgroup: news:comp.os.research.
[Jargon File]
(1999-06-09)