An operating system is system software that manages a computer's hardware and software resources and provides common services to other computer programs, acting as an intermediary between application code and the underlying hardware for functions such as input, output and memory allocation. The rise of large-scale integration allowed personal computers, then called microcomputers, to become widespread from around 1980, and the free MINIX system, a stripped-down version of UNIX released for educational use in 1987, went on to inspire the free and open-source Linux kernel. Mobile operating systems followed a separate path, from Symbian OS's early dominance through BlackBerry OS from 2002 and Apple's iOS from 2007 to Google's Android, introduced in 2008, which had become the world's most used operating system with roughly 38 percent market share by November 2025, ahead of Microsoft Windows at about 33 percent.
Facts
SignificanceOperating systems now run on nearly every kind of computing device, from cellular phones and game consoles to web servers and supercomputers. 2 FAQs
What was the first operating system used for real work?
GM-NAA I/O, produced in 1956 by General Motors Research for the IBM 704.
The first operating system used for real work was GM-NAA I/O, produced in 1956 by the General Motors Research division for its IBM 704 computer.
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In Field
Source Operating System (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Sources
1. History of Operating Systems (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationEarly history section, GM-NAA I-O sentenceQuote, Early history section, GM-NAA I-O sentence
The first operating system used for real work was GM-NAA I/O, produced in 1956 by General Motors' Research division for its IBM 704.
2. Operating System (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationIntroduction, devices sentence
Operating systems are found on many devices that contain a computer, from cellular phones and video game consoles to web servers and supercomputers.
In Field: Software Engineering, Introduction
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.
In Group: System and Data Management Software, Lead paragraph
is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources
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