General features of operating systems
An operating system is a master control program which controls the functions of the computer system as a whole and the running of application programs. All computers don’t use the same operating systems. It is therefore important to assess the operating system used on a
5 particular model before initial commitment because some software is only designed to run under the control of specific operating systems. Some operating systems are adopted as 'industry standards' and these are the ones which should be evaluated because they normally have a good software base. The reason for this is that software houses are willing to expand resources on the development of application packages for machines functioning under the control of an operating system which is
widely used. The cost of software is likely to be lower in such
circumstances as the development costs are spread over a greater number of users, both actual and potential.
