Different Types of Computer Operating System(s)

Operating system ABCs:

An operating system, or OS, is a software program that enables the computer hardware to communicate and operate with the computer software. Without a computer operating system, a computer would be useless.

Operating system types:

As computers have progressed and developed so have the types of operating systems. Below is a basic list of the different types of operating systems and a few examples of operating systems that fall into each of the categories. Many computer operating systems will fall into more than one of the below categories.



GUI -

Short for Graphical User Interface, the GUI was first developed at Xerox PARC by Alan Kay, Douglas Engelbart, and a group of other researchers. A GUI uses windows, icons, and menus to carry out commands such as opening files, deleting files, moving files, etc. and although many GUI Operating Systems are operated by using a mouse, the keyboard can also be used by using keyboard shortcuts or arrow keys.Unlike a command line operating system like Unix or MS-DOS, GUI Operating Systems are much easier for end-users to learn and use because commands do not need to be known or memorized. Because of their ease of use, GUI Operating Systems have become the dominant operating system used by end-users today.A few examples of a GUI Operating Systems:

Microsoft Windows 95
Apple System 7
Apple Mac OS.
 

Multi-user –

A multi-user operating system allows for multiple users to use the same computer at the same time and/or different times

some examples of multi-user operating systems.

Linux
Unix
Windows 2000

 

Multiprocessing - 
 An operating system capable of supporting and utilizing more than one computer processor. Below are some examples of multiprocessing operating systems.

Linux
Unix
Windows 2000

 

Multitasking - 
 An operating system that is capable of allowing multiple software processes to run at the same time. Below are some examples of multitasking operating systems.

Unix
Windows 2000

 

Multithreading -  
Operating systems that allow different parts of a software program to run concurrently. Operating systems that would fall into this category are:

Linux
Unix
Windows 2000

Operating system listing:

Below is a listing of many of the different types of operating systems available today, the dates they were released, the platforms they have been developed for and who developed them.

Operating system	Date first released	Platform	Developer
AIX / AIXL	Unix / Linux.	Various	IBM
AmigaOS	Currently no AmigaOS operating system history.	Amiga	Commodore
BSD	Unix / Linux.	Various	BSD
Caldera Linux	Unix / Linux.	Various	SCO
Corel Linux	Unix / Linux.	Various	Corel
Debian Linux	Unix / Linux.	Various	GNU
DUnix	Unix / Linux.	Various	Digital
DYNIX/ptx	Unix / Linux.	Various	IBM
HP-UX	Unix / Linux.	Various	Hewlett Packard
IRIX	Unix / Linux.	Various	SGI
Kondara Linux	Unix / Linux.	Various	Kondara
Linux	Unix / Linux.	Various	Linus Torvalds
MAC OS 8	Apple operating system.	Apple Macintosh	Apple
MAC OS 9	Apple operating system.	Apple Macintosh	Apple
MAC OS 10	Apple operating system	Apple Macintosh	Apple
MAC OS X	Apple operating system	Apple Macintosh	Apple
Mandrake Linux	Unix / Linux.	Various	Mandrake
MINIX	Unix / Linux.	Various	MINIX
MS-DOS 1.x	MS-DOS.	IBM / PC	Microsoft
MS-DOS 2.x	MS-DOS.	IBM / PC	Microsoft
MS-DOS 3.x	MS-DOS.	IBM / PC	Microsoft
MS-DOS 4.x	MS-DOS.	IBM / PC	Microsoft
MS-DOS 5.x	MS-DOS.	IBM / PC	Microsoft
MS-DOS 6.x	MS-DOS.	IBM / PC	Microsoft
NEXTSTEP	Apple operating system	Various	Apple
OSF/1	Unix / Linux.	Various	OSF
QNX	Unix / Linux.	Various	QNX
Red Hat Linux	Unix / Linux.	Various	Red Hat
SCO	Unix / Linux.	Various	SCO
Slackware Linux	Unix / Linux.	Various	Slackware
Sun Solaris	Unix / Linux.	Various	Sun
SuSE Linux	Unix / Linux.	Various	SuSE
System 1	Apple operating system	Apple Macintosh	Apple
System 2	Apple operating system	Apple Macintosh	Apple
System 3	Apple operating system	Apple Macintosh	Apple
System 4	Apple operating system	Apple Macintosh	Apple
System 6	Apple operating system	Apple Macintosh	Apple
System 7	Apple operating	Apple Macintosh	Apple
System V	Unix / Linux	Various	System V
Tru64 Unix	Unix / Linux	Various	Digital
Turbolinux	Unix / Linux	Various	Turbolinux
Ultrix	Unix / Linux	Various	Ultrix
Unisys	Unix / Linux	Various	Unisys
Unix	Unix / Linux	Various	Bell labs
UnixWare	Unix / Linux	Various	UnixWare
VectorLinux	Unix / Linux	Various	VectorLinux
Windows 2000	Windows.	IBM / PC	Microsoft
Windows 2003	Windows.	IBM / PC	Microsoft
Windows 3.X	Windows.	IBM / PC	Microsoft
Windows 7	Windows.	IBM / PC	Microsoft
Windows 95	Windows.	IBM / PC	Microsoft
Windows 98	Windows.	IBM / PC	Microsoft
Windows CE	Windows.	PDA	Microsoft
Windows ME	Windows.	IBM / PC	Microsoft
Windows NT	Windows.	IBM / PC	Microsoft
Windows Vista	Windows.	IBM / PC	Microsoft
Windows XP	Windows.	IBM / PC	Microsoft
Xenix	Unix / Linux	Various	Microsoft