Operating Systems – 8 Different Operating Systems you should know

An Operating system is the most important software in any device and an Operating system is also an identity for any device and it is under what we call system software. Before we continue with what an OS is, we would provide brief information on what system software is and the types.

The system software is written by the manufacturer of the device to facilitate the optimal use of the hardware systems or provide a suitable environment for writing, editing, debugging, testing, and running of users’ programs. Types of system software are Operating systems, language translators, and utility or service programs.

An Operating system according to Wikipedia is a systems software that manages the computer hardware, software resources and provides common services for computer programs, in other words, an Operating system acts as an interface between the user of the device and the hardware. The following are functions of an Operating system:

• I/O handling
• Resource sharing and management
• Device Management
• Providing User interface
• Managing task

There are various types of Operating systems and the ones we are going to list in this article falls under the ones mentioned below:

1. Single-tasking and multi-tasking
2. Single-and-multi user
3. Distributed
4. Real-time

Below are examples of operating systems in the world:

1. Android: Android Operating system is the most common operating system in the world and it was released in the year 2008 on September 23^rd to be precise. Android OS is written in Java, C, and C++ in addition to other ones and it was developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance. Android has eleven versions and the most recent of them Android 11 was released on 8^th September 2020 furthermore Android is used on some of the world’s most populous devices such as Galaxy Nexus, HTC Pixel2, and Nokia 7 plus. Android operating systems are mostly found in mobile phones and tablets.
2. Windows: Windows operating system is one of the most used operating systems in the world and it was released on November 20^th, 1985 and it is developed by Microsoft. The term windows according to Wikipedia is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families all of which are developed and marketed by Windows. Windows operating system is mostly used on Personal computers (Pcs) and it has more than ten (10) versions including the Xbox OS which runs on the popular Xbox gaming platform.
3. Java: Java is one of the oldest operating systems and it was originally developed by Sun Microsystems and its operation is based on a Java virtual machine running applications on behalf of operators and security services. As at the time of writing this article, Java Os is currently discontinued and this OS could be found on platforms like ARM, PowerPC, SPARC, and IA-32.
4. Linux: Linux is an open-source modelled operating system developed by Linus Torvalds and released on September 17^th, 1991. The LINUX operating system has popular distributors like Ubuntu, Fedora, and Debian respectively and it was originally developed for PCs based on Intel x86 architecture and it is the largest installed base of general operating systems. Linux operating system is very broad and it some of its marketing targets include cloud computing embedded devices, mainframe computers, mobile devices, personal computers, server, and supercomputers.
5. UNIX: UNIX is a multi-tasking, multi-user operating system developed in Bells Lab by the following people Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas Mcllroy, and Joe Ossanna. UNIX operating system is written in C and assembly language and it has a high multiprocessing capability which is the major reason why the developers of the internet built it around UNIX. Except for Windows NT OS, all other popular OS we use today traces their roots to the UNIX operating system.
6. Macintosh Operating System (macOS): macOS is an operating system developed by Apple and released on June 29, 2007. macOS falls into the UNIX-based family Os and it was written in five (5) programming languages namely C, C++, Objective-C, Swift, and assembly language respectively. macOS is the second most used operating software after the Windows operating system.
7. IOS: IOS is a mobile operating system that is developed by Apple and was initially released on 29^th June 2007. IOS is the second most used mobile operating system after android which ranks first. IOS is majorly used on Iphones and three other operating systems namely IpadOs, tvOs, and WatchOs are linked to it.
8. Disk Operating System: DOS is a single user and command-driven operating system that resides on and can use a disk storage device such as floppy disk, hard disk drive, or optical disc.

Each of the operating systems listed above has its own versions but we would discuss that further in our upcoming article so subscribe to our mailing list if you want to be updated once we publish the article.