comparison of operating systems

8/7/2019 Comparison of operating systems

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Comparison of operating

systems


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What is operating system?

A program that acts as anintermediary between a user of acomputer and the computerhardware.

Operating system goals:

Execute user programs and makesolving user problems easier.

Make the computer system

convenient to use.


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Computer System Structure

Computer system can be divided intofour components

Hardware provides basic computingresources

CPU, memory, I/O devices

Operating system Controls and coordinates use of hardwareamong various applications and users

Application programs

define the wa s in which the s stem


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Four Components of a

Computer System


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Types of operating systems

Operating systems can be groupedaccording to functionality:

operating systems forsupercomputing: scientificcomputing

render farms: collections ofcomputers that work together torender animations and special effects

Mainframes: large centralized


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While there are many differentoptions, there are essentially fouroperating systems commonly usedtoday:

DOS,

Linux, Windows and

Mac OS X.


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DOS

DOS (Disk Operating System) gaineda reputation by supporting operatingsystems developed by IBM andWindows. DOS was prominent in theindustry up until support wasterminated for Windows ME. Though

it's not as sophisticated as modernsystems, DOS offers manyadvantages to the user. This system

is very stable and rarely endures


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Linux

The Linux operating system isdeveloped on a kernel based on Unix.It is known as one of the most secureplatforms, yet Linux is often viewedas more complex. Linux is the resultof an open-source project, allowing

users and developers to access thesource code for free. Because itrequires less hardware, Linux is

capable of providing exceptional


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Mac OS X

Mac OS X is Apple's trademarkoperating system software for theirline of Macintosh computers. Thesystem was based in part on Unixand mimics it's format with theadministrative controls. Mac OS X

software requires a low level ofmaintenance with fewer occurrencesof computers worms, viruses and

spyware. The Apple operating system


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Windows

The Microsoft Windows operatingsystem is the most popular choiceand currently has a stronghold overthe market. This platform has madesignificant advancements fromversion 1.0 all the way to the new

Vista system. The Windows system ishighly compatible, feature-rich andhas a much larger selection of

software applications. Unlike the


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Difference

Cost:

Linux: Free software No cost, no

restrictions complete freedom Windows: developed by Microsoft

Mac: developed by Apple, proprietary


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Security

the Linux operating system is moresecure than the Windows operatingsystem. Chances of contracting acomputer virus, computer worm orother predatory software issignificantly lower with Linux than

Windows because of the securityflaws that Windows has.

Linux crashes and freezes less often

than Windows. Linux can run without


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Technical architecture

Computer architecture supported

Linux- x86, x86-

64,PPC, SPARC,Alpha, others Windows- x86, x86-64

Mac OS X- PPC, x86, x86-64, ARM


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File System

Linux-ext2, ext3, ext4, ReiserFS, FAT, ISO9660, UDF, NFS, and others

Mac-HFS+ (default), HFS, UFS, AFP, ISO9660, FAT, UDF, NFS, SMBFS, NTFS(readonly), FTP, WebDAV, ZFS(experimental)

Windows- NTFS FAT exFAT ISO


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Kernel Type

Linux- Monolithic with modules

Mac OS X- Monolithic with modules

Windows- Hybrid


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Pros and cons of windows

Compatibility- almost everyapplication, driver will work onwindows.

Technical support

Huge quantity of function

Cons: Viruses

Slow


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Mac

Pros:

Viruses- apple gets almost no viruses

Reliability- less prone to hardwareand s/w crashing

Looks-Mac looks better than windows

Cons:

Expensive-

Compatibility


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Linux

Pros:

Price-Free

Viruses- more vulnerable to viruses. Cons:

Complicated- although some distrosare easy to use, most of them willrequire a good deal of computerknowledge.

-


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Linux Vs Windows

Linux is an open-source OperatingSystem. People can change codesand add programs to Linux OS whichwill help use your computer better.

you can't change any code forwindows OS. You can't even seewhich processes do what and buildyour own extension.


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All flavors of Windows come fromMicrosoft. Linux come from differentcompanies like LIndows , Lycoris, RedHat, SuSe, Mandrake, Knopping,Slackware.

Linux is customizable but Windows isnot.

For server use, Linux is cheapcompared to Windows.


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Windows must boot from a primarypartition. Linux can boot from eithera primary partition or a logicalpartition inside an extendedpartition. Windows must boot fromthe first hard disk. Linux can boot

from any hard disk in the computer. Windows uses a hidden file for itsswap file. Typically this file resides in

the same partition as the OS


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Windows file names are not casesensitive. Linux file names are. Forexample "abc" and "aBC" aredifferent files in Linux, whereas inWindows it would refer to the samefile.

Windows and Linux have differentconcepts for their file hierarchy.Windows uses a volume-based file

hierarchy while Linux uses a unified


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Linux and windows support theconcept of hidden files. In linuxhidden files begin with " . ", eg:.filename

In Linux each user will have a homedirectory and all his files will be saveunder it while in windows the usersaves his files anywhere in the drive.This makes difficult to have backup

for his contents. In Linux its easy to


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Stability:

UNIX handles high server loads

better than Windows and UNIXmachines seldom require rebootswhile Windows is constantly needingthem. Servers running on UNIX enjoyextremely high up-time and highavailability/reliability.


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Scalability:Web sites usually change over time.They start off small and grow as the

needs of the person or organizationrunning them grow. While bothplatforms can often adapt to your

growing needs, Windows hosting ismore easily made compatible withUNIX-based programming features

like PHP and MySQL. UNIX-based web


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Conclusion

In conclusion, no operating system isreally better, the choice is up to you.If you're a gamer, then you have no

choice, go for Windows.Programmers might prefer Linux andvideo/graphics producers will

probably tend towards Mac. The bestthing to do is probably to try each OSand see which is best for you!

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