What is the purpose of an operating system?

The purpose of an operating system is fundamentally to manage both the hardware and software resources of a computer. It acts as an intermediary between users and the computer hardware, enabling the operation of applications and managing how they interact with the system's resources.

An operating system performs essential tasks such as managing memory, processing tasks, controlling peripherals, and organizing files and directories. By handling these complex interactions and resource allocations, the operating system ensures that all hardware components work together seamlessly and efficiently, providing a stable environment for applications to run.

This management role is critical for the efficient functioning of a computer, as it allows multiple applications to work simultaneously without conflicts, allocates system resources like CPU time and memory space, and provides a user interface to facilitate interaction with the system. This sets the foundation for all computing tasks, making the operating system a central component in computer architecture.