Operating Systems’ Types and common Archetypes

Operating Systems (OS) are crucial for controlling the hardware that you will interact with in multiple electronic device types that you utilize daily.

As such, it's important to understand the minimal aspects of this important piece of code that you're inadvertedly interacting with, at a daily basis.

In this article I intend to break down common types of OS, and how they work, at a high level.

Types

We shouldn’t undermine the importance of this code. OSs are critical to bring a computer or mobile device to life, much like a conductor ensuring every instrument plays in harmony.

Imagine a computer as a complex machine with countless moving parts — which without an operating system would operate in chaos, unable to communicate or work together. And much like there are multiple types of Music, there are different OS types based on the need.

Classically speaking, this is a good representation of types of OS from Javatpoint:

Source: Types of Operating Systems (OS) — javatpoint

But for the past decade, new “types” have emerged, specialized OS dedicated to new forms of electronic devices, such as…