- Processor management:
The operating system schedules the activities of the CPU and resources to achieve efficiency and prevent deadlock.
Scheduling is the process of deciding on which task to be executed.
- Memory management:
This process allocates memory to separate tasks and protects data from corruption. It allocates portion of memory to programs at their request, and frees it for reuse when no longer needed.
- Storage management:
This process keeps tracks of the data on disks, tapes and optical storage devices. Whenever an application needs to read and write data, it makes a call to the operating system. The operating system directs where data will be stored or fetched on hard drives and other forms of storage.
- Device management:
The operating system monitors and controls all the data that enters and leave peripheral devices, like hard drives, printers and scanners. This task is performed by means of small programs called device drivers.
- Application interface:
The operating system ensures communication between the hardware and application programs. This means that it must provide Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for applications to connect.
- User interface:
The operating system ensures communication between the computer and the end-user by providing a user interface. The user interface varies from command-line interface to graphical user interface. User management also defines how and which types of users can utilize a facility.
