List and Briefly Discuss Various Operating System Services

Module 1 Discussions
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Topic 1: List and briefly discuss various operating system services.
There are five main operating system services. They include;
I/O Operations: In order for a program to produce an output, it requires an input. The operating system manages input / output operations which facilitate communication between the computer and the outside world which can be a human or another information system. Inputs are the signals or data originating from the user while outputs are signals or data that the system produces as a response to input (Comer, 2015). Input/output devices or input/output hardware enable the user to communicate with the system. They include keyboards, modems, network cards, etc.
Program Execution: Computer systems cannot run without the proper execution of programs. The operating system provides the user with a convenient environment to run programs. Multitasking, and memory allocation is taken care of by the operating system therefore the user doesn’t have to worry about that.
File Manipulation: Upon giving the command to read or write to a file, the user accomplishes this task through the operating system. The operating system provides a service that involves secondary storage management (Comer, 2015). User level programs can easily manage secondary storage management but due to the speed of I/O and its dependence on secondary storage management, the operating system is best suited for this purpose.
Error Detection: Errors are parts of a system that may cause damage to a computer system due to malfunctions. The operating system constantly monitors a computer system in order to detect errors and notifies the user as a way to stop the errors from causing a full malfunction of the system.
Communications: Processes running on the same computer or on different computers may need to communicate with each other in order to exchange information. The operating system is responsible for facilitating communications between processes in a computer system.
Topic 2
User interfaces of operating systems are also known as human-computer interfaces. They comprise of both software and hardware components and are designed to handle interactions between the user and the computer system. They include; command-line, graphical user, menu driven, form based and natural language interfaces. A more recent interface known as the gesture-driven interface is still under research and development (Dixon et al., 2012).
Computers and computerised systems have become major replacements for human labour in many developed countries. At this trend, the start of the next decade might see computers leading to the replacement of human labour in certain industries. Umpires and referees are top on the list with a 98 per cent chance of automation, followed by electrical and electronic assemblers, postal service workers, and cashiers, among others. When this time comes people with advanced programming skills and well versed in robotics and automated machinery will not lack employment.
The systems development life cycle consists of five di...