An Operating System acts as an intermediate between computer hardware and the User. It provides GUI or command-line-based environment for the user to execute programs.
It also concerns with memory allocation on hard drives, file management, scheduler, IO programs, and much more.
Functions of Operating System:
Convenience: Operating system makes the computer more convenient to use.
Efficiency: Operating systems make more efficient usage of memory for better usage.
Throughput: Operating system is constructed in a way to maximize the number of tasks per minute
Types of management:
Resource Management: When multiple users try to access the same resources the OS handles with parallel processing decreasing the load on the machine.
Process Management: OS includes tasks like scheduling, termination of the process. There are certain algorithms like CPU Scheduling that efficiently handle this.
Memory Management: OS keeps the track of how much memory a program needs. It allocates and deallocates the memory.
Security/Privacy Management: OS also handles security. Like Windows uses Kerberos authentication to prevent unauthorized access to data.