2.2.2.2.1 Operating System (OS)
- Standards
  - Technical Standards
  - de facto Standards
- Tools

2.2.2.2.1 Operating System (OS)

An Operating System (OS), in its most general sense, is software that allows a user to run other applications in a computing device, as well as Virtual Machine applications, which emulate another computer. While it is possible for a software application to interface directly with hardware, it is not advisable from a portability or lifecycle perspective. Software applications that access hardware resources or other computer components directly pose a security risk.

Operating systems provide a common, well documented, and tested set of libraries, which abstract the idiosyncrasies of the host computer away from its applications.

An OS primarily manages a computer's hardware resources, including:

Input devices such as a keyboard, mouse, track pad, touch screens, camera, microphone, scanners, or sensors
Output devices such as display monitors, speakers, printers, or faxes
Network devices such as modems, router, wired and wireless Internet Protocol network connections, and Bluetooth
Storage devices such as internal and external disks
Memory devices

The OS also manages a computer's:

CPU
Processes
Privileges
Cache
Energy, i.e., power management

Table of Contents

2.2.2.2.1 Operating System (OS)

Standards

Technical Standards

de facto Standards

Tools