What is the operating system evolution?

Operating systems work as an interface between the user and the computer hardware. OS is the software which performs the basic tasks like input, output, disk management, controlling peripherals etc.

Windows, Linux etc are some examples of operating systems.

Operating System Evolution 

Operating system is divided into four generations, which are explained as follows −

First Generation (1945-1955)

It is the beginning of the development of electronic computing systems which are substitutes for mechanical computing systems. Because of the drawbacks in mechanical computing systems like, the speed of humans to calculate is limited and humans can easily make mistakes. In this generation there is no operating system, so the computer system is given instructions which must be done directly.

Example − Type of operating system and devices used is Plug Boards.

Second Generation (1955-1965)

The Batch processing system was introduced in the second generation, where a job or a task that can be done in a series, and then executed sequentially. In this generation, the computer system is not equipped with an operating system, but several operating system functions exist like FMS and IBSYS.

Example − Type of operating system and devices used is Batch systems.

Third Generation (1965-1980)

The development of the operating system was developed to serve multiple users at once in the third generation. Here the interactive users can communicate through an online terminal to a computer, so the operating system becomes multi-user and multiprogramming.

Example − Type of operating system and devices used is Multiprogramming.

Fourth Generation (1980-Now)

In this generation the operating system is used for computer networks where users are aware of the existence of computers that are connected to one another.

At this generation users are also comforted with a Graphical User Interface (GUI), which is an extremely comfortable graphical computer interface, and the era of distributed computing has also begun.

With the occurrence of new wearable devices like Smart Watches, Smart Glasses, VRGears, and others, the demand for conventional operating systems has also increased.

And, with the onset of new devices like wearable devices, which includes Smart Watches, Smart Glasses, VR gears etc, the demand for unconventional operating systems is also rising.

Example − Type of operating system and devices used is personal computers