What is an Operating System?
An operating system (OS) is a software program that manages computer hardware and software resources. It acts as an interface between the computer hardware and the user. There are many operating systems that are available however the most common operating systems are Microsoft's Windows, Apple's macOS, Linux and Chrome OS.
Comparison between different operating systems
(Data as of Arp-10-23)
| Microsoft’s Windows | Apple’s macOS | Linux | Chrome OS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | Microsoft Corporation | Apple Inc | N/A Original Creator- Linus Torvalds | |
| Written in | C++, Assembly | Swift, C, C++, Assembly, Objective-c | Assembly language, C | C, C++, Assembly, JavaScript, HTML , Python , Rust |
| License | It is a proprietary operating system | It is a proprietary operating system but built on a Unix-based OS | It is a open source operating system | It is a Linux-based OS and It is derived from the open source ChromiumOS |
| Default user interface | Windows Shell | Aqua | Unix Shell | Google Chrome |
| Necessary Disk Space | 20 GB | Up to 44 GB to upgrade | 150 MB – 15 GB | 15 GB |
| Package manager | Windows Installer (.msi), Windows Store (.appx). | Homebrew | Packaged in a Linux distribution (distro). | Chromebrew |
| Default Command Line | Windows PowerShell | zsh | BASH | Chrome Shell |
| Flavors | 7, 8, 8.1, 10, 10 S | Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey, Ventura. | Ubuntu, Debain, CentOS, Arch Linux and Mint. | ChromeOS-Dark-Marsala, ChromeOS-Dark-Oceanic, ChromeOS-Dark-Slate, and ChromeOS-Dark-UltraViolet. |
| Most Recent Update | Windows 10, version 22H2 | macOS 13 | N/A | ChromeOS 109 |
| Privacy | Windows collects all the user data. | It collects users data | Linux distros do not collect user data. | It collect user data |
| Release Date | 20/NOV/1985 | 24/MAR/2001 | 17/SEP/1991 | June 15, 2011 |
Desktop Operating System Market Share Worldwide
(Mar 2022 - Mar 2023)
