Chapter 1
IT Concepts and Terminology
Course: Comptia Tech Fc0 U71
Subject: Comptia Tech Fc0U71
Chapter: Applications And Software
An Operating System (OS) is the critical software layer that sits between computer hardware and the user or application software. It provides a platform for applications to run, manages system resources, and ensures the smooth operation of the entire system.
1. Interface Between Applications and Hardware
Definition:
The Operating System (OS) functions as a critical abstraction layer between application software and hardware components (e.g., CPU, memory, I/O devices). Applications are written using high-level languages and rely on the OS to translate their operations into hardware-level actions.
Technical Details:
a. Application Programming Interfaces (APIs):
- APIs allow application developers to interact with the OS instead of directly manipulating hardware.
- Abstracts hardware specifics: for example, WriteFile() in Windows or fopen() in Linux lets developers save files without knowing disk sector details.