There are many operating systems in existence. I have chosen to list a few thatI believe are important milestones in the evolution of post-mainframecomputers.
PC-DOS, developed under Bill Gates of Microsoft, was the first operating systemthat ran on the IBM PC (released in 1981). It was the world's first mass marketPC. MS-DOS is a Microsoft version almost identical to PC-DOS that Microsoftretained the right to distribute.
DOS is a text based operating system meaning that all commands are typed. Thenow familiar point and click mouse, and the desktop GUI (Graphical UserInterface) had not yet been developed.
DOS is more tedious to use than the GUI that Windows provides. It does,however, offer the user more direct access to the inner workings of the PC,which newer releases of Windows seem to be progressively hiding from the user.
A DOS session can be opened while running Windows. Just click Start, then Programsand find the MS-DOS Prompt and click it. When you are done with DOS, type'exit' at the C:\ prompt to close it.
Every once in a while you may need to open a DOS or Command session, as it isnow called, in order to change or check a PC parameter that cannot be changedfrom Windows.
Mac
Mac is the operating system that runs on Macintosh computers from Apple Inc.Many people who use computers for graphics development, like the features inthis OS.
Mac is the operating system that runs on Macintosh computers from Apple Inc.Many people who use computers for graphics development, like the features inthis OS.
In the late 1980s the Wintel (Windows/Intel) combination of software/hardwareused on the PC took off because the architecture was open. This encouragedthird parties to develop software and special purpose Add-on cards for the PCthat enabled further extensions and enhancements to the PC..
Apple took the closed architecture approach and no one could get specificationsnecessary to develop third party boards for it. The end result is that no onecould develop anything for the Mac. This held back the growth and acceptance ofthe Mac, and allowed the PC to gain tremendous market share.
Over time the inertia of the Wintel based PC became virtually, for better orworse, unstoppable. Today 9 out of every 10 PCs are Wintel based. In spite ofsome of the shortcomings of Windows, it along with the Microsoft Office suite,has become the de facto operating platform for PCs worldwide. More applicationsoftware and support are available for it than any other OS in the world.
Unix
UNIX (you-niks) is an operating system that originated at Bell Labs in 1969. Itwas the first OS written in the popular 'C' programming language. It is not aproprietary operating system owned by a one computer company, and became thefirst open operating system that could be added to by anyone. UNIX is usedprimarily in workstations which are typically more powerful machines than PCs.
UNIX (you-niks) is an operating system that originated at Bell Labs in 1969. Itwas the first OS written in the popular 'C' programming language. It is not aproprietary operating system owned by a one computer company, and became thefirst open operating system that could be added to by anyone. UNIX is usedprimarily in workstations which are typically more powerful machines than PCs.
Solaris
Solaris (the follow on to SunOS) is a UNIX based system developed by SunMicrosystems for its family of Scalable Processor Architecture-basedprocessors. It can also run on Intel-based processors. Sun's SPARC/Solarissystems were the predominant servers for Web sites as the Internet emerged inthe 1990s. Sun says Solaris is available (meaning it seldom crashes), scalable(it can be run on larger processors) and is designed for network computing. Sunadvertises its latest version, the Solaris 8 Operating Environment, as the 'theleading UNIX environment' today.
Solaris (the follow on to SunOS) is a UNIX based system developed by SunMicrosystems for its family of Scalable Processor Architecture-basedprocessors. It can also run on Intel-based processors. Sun's SPARC/Solarissystems were the predominant servers for Web sites as the Internet emerged inthe 1990s. Sun says Solaris is available (meaning it seldom crashes), scalable(it can be run on larger processors) and is designed for network computing. Sunadvertises its latest version, the Solaris 8 Operating Environment, as the 'theleading UNIX environment' today.
Linux
Linux (lih-niks) is a UNIX-like operating system. The kernel (core of theoperating system) was developed by Linus Torvalds at the University of Helsinkiin Finland. Unlike commercial operating systems, it is free and anyone candownload it from the Internet!
Linux (lih-niks) is a UNIX-like operating system. The kernel (core of theoperating system) was developed by Linus Torvalds at the University of Helsinkiin Finland. Unlike commercial operating systems, it is free and anyone candownload it from the Internet!
Linux is an open source language and anyone can add to it. It is distributedusing the Free Software Foundation's 'copyleft' stipulations that mean anymodified version that is redistributed must in turn be made freely available.
Some have suggested that Linux may become an open language alternative to thepopular desktop OS, Microsoft Windows. It is very popular among users alreadyfamiliar with UNIX, but has far fewer users than Windows.
As we indicated earlier this operating system can be downloaded for free.Companies like Red Hat and SUsE offer bundled versions of the OS which amongother things provides installation software for those who don't want to trydoing the download and setup on their own.
Java
Java is a high-level programming language developed by Sun Microsystemsoriginally targeting handheld devices and set-top boxes but later modified toaddress the rapidly expanding World Wide Web.
Java is a high-level programming language developed by Sun Microsystemsoriginally targeting handheld devices and set-top boxes but later modified toaddress the rapidly expanding World Wide Web.
Java has a set of features that make it well suited for use on the World WideWeb. Small Java applications called Java applets that perform specific taskscan be downloaded from a Web server and run on your computer by aJava-compatible Web browser, such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft InternetExplorer.
Script
Script is another name for a macro or batch file and is basically a list ofcommands that perform common tasks without user interaction. A script languageis a simple programming language with which you can write scripts.
PERL (Practical Extraction and Report Language) is a scripting languageespecially designed for processing text. Because of it's strong text processingabilities, Perl has become one of the most popular languages for writing CGIscripts.
Script is another name for a macro or batch file and is basically a list ofcommands that perform common tasks without user interaction. A script languageis a simple programming language with which you can write scripts.
PERL (Practical Extraction and Report Language) is a scripting languageespecially designed for processing text. Because of it's strong text processingabilities, Perl has become one of the most popular languages for writing CGIscripts.
Applescript is a scripting language developed by Apple Computer that isintegrated into the MacOS starting with System 7.5. AppleScripts automatecommon tasks, yet are powerful enough to automate complex tasks.