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Computer Programming/OS Programming

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Operating System (OS) Programming

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A computer is a series of electrical pathways some of which can be changed by use of some of its own electrical pathways.

A computer instruction is a series of electrical signals that make use of a computer.

A computer program is a series of computer instructions.

An operating system (OS) is a computer program with the purposes of:

  • allowing user input in its operation
  • maintaining itself
  • switching computer operation to other computer programs (tasks)
  • maintaining other computer programs (tasks)
  • controlling hardware
  • allocating memory to software as needed

OS programming is ...


Many people are dissatisfied with currently-available operating systems, and research ways to improve them—or introduce entirely new replacements.

Some computer engineers develop entirely new computing hardware, and need to write a new OS for it (typically by adapting parts of some pre-existing OS).