What an OS does
Understand how an operating system manages hardware and gives applications shared services.
9 min · beginnerLevel 0 · Module 2
Operating System Basics
Learn how an operating system manages processes, memory, files, identities, and commands.
What you will learn
- What an OS does
- Kernel vs user space
- Processes
- Threads
- Files and directories
- File systems
- Memory
- Environment variables
- Users and permissions
- Command-line basics
Prerequisites:How Computers Work
Start here
Lessons · 93 min
Kernel vs user space
Learn why operating systems separate privileged kernel code from ordinary applications.
9 min · beginnerProcesses
Understand how the operating system represents, schedules, and isolates running programs.
10 min · beginnerThreads
Learn how multiple execution paths can work inside one process.
9 min · beginnerFiles and directories
Understand how operating systems name and organize persistent information.
9 min · beginnerFile systems
Learn how a file system maps named files to storage and preserves their metadata.
9 min · beginnerMemory
Understand how an operating system gives processes protected virtual memory.
10 min · beginnerEnvironment variables
Learn how processes receive named configuration values from their environment.
8 min · beginnerUsers and permissions
Understand how identities and access rules protect operating-system resources.
10 min · beginnerCommand-line basics
Learn how a shell turns typed commands into operating-system actions.
10 min · beginner
What you will cover
Module units
What an OS does
A planned unit covering What an OS does.
Kernel vs user space
A planned unit covering Kernel vs user space.
Processes
A planned unit covering Processes.
Threads
A planned unit covering Threads.
Files and directories
A planned unit covering Files and directories.
File systems
A planned unit covering File systems.
Memory
A planned unit covering Memory.
Environment variables
A planned unit covering Environment variables.
Users and permissions
A planned unit covering Users and permissions.
Command-line basics
A planned unit covering Command-line basics.