Operating Systems : Processing

Operating Systems : Processing

Sometimes operating systems are also classified according to the types of processing that can be carried out by software packages running on them. As well as the categories of network, multi-tasking and multi-user a particular operating system could fall into these four categories :

OS Type Description
Batch A batch operating system can perform batch processing of data. Data to be processed is grouped together into batches. No data is processed until a complete batch has been collected, then all of the data in a batch is processed in one go. There may be a long time delay between data being input into the system and the data being processed. Each task that is waiting to be carried out is known as a job.
Interactive An interactive operating system carries out a dialogue with the user. Once the user has entered a command or selected an option the operating system will process the user's input and react with some output before the user can input any more data. Interactive operating systems can carry out transaction processing.
On-Line An on-line operating system allows the user of a computer to interact directly with another central computer. On-line operating systems are commonly used by transaction processing systems that require many users at different computers to interact with a central computer. An on-line operating system could be used in a chain of travel agents where computers located at many branches make bookings on one central computer.
Real Time A real time operating system can perform real time processing of data. This means it can process data extremely quickly to meet a real world deadline. Real time operating systems are usually used in control systems and embedded systems.

Note that a particular operating system could fall into more than one category. e.g. it could be network, multi-tasking, interactive and on-line.

GCSE ICT Companion 04 - (C) P Meakin 2004

OS Type	Description
Batch	A batch operating system can perform batch processing of data. Data to be processed is grouped together into batches. No data is processed until a complete batch has been collected, then all of the data in a batch is processed in one go. There may be a long time delay between data being input into the system and the data being processed. Each task that is waiting to be carried out is known as a job.
Interactive	An interactive operating system carries out a dialogue with the user. Once the user has entered a command or selected an option the operating system will process the user's input and react with some output before the user can input any more data. Interactive operating systems can carry out transaction processing.
On-Line	An on-line operating system allows the user of a computer to interact directly with another central computer. On-line operating systems are commonly used by transaction processing systems that require many users at different computers to interact with a central computer. An on-line operating system could be used in a chain of travel agents where computers located at many branches make bookings on one central computer.
Real Time	A real time operating system can perform real time processing of data. This means it can process data extremely quickly to meet a real world deadline. Real time operating systems are usually used in control systems and embedded systems.