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This lesson covers the purpose and functions of an operating system (OS), a key topic in AQA and OCR GCSE Computer Science. You need to understand what an operating system does, why it is needed, and its core management functions.
An operating system is a piece of systems software that manages the computer's hardware and software resources and provides a platform for application software to run. Without an operating system, you would need to write low-level code to interact directly with every piece of hardware — an impractical task for everyday users.
Examples of operating systems:
The OS acts as an intermediary between the user, application software, and the hardware. Its main purposes are:
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