The computer's master control program. When a computer is turned on, a small "boot program" loads the operating system. Although additional system modules may be loaded as needed, the main part, known ...

A system software component that is external to the operating system kernel. If the phrase is used to refer to the operating system itself, it is redundant because an operating system "is" software.

What are open-source operating systems? Underpinning an operating system, for example Windows on your PC or Android on your phone, is many, many lines of code. Allowing anyone to inspect the source ...

Developers talk a lot about “immutability.” Outside the technical world, it usually means something negative: unmoving, inflexible, and entrenched. However, in the technical field, these features ...

To some, an operating system is a burden or waste of resources, like those working on embedded systems and other low-power applications. To others it’s necessary, abstracting away hardware so that ...