Content area
Abstract
Four main operating systems are available for personal computers. A wealth of mature applications, including computer-aided design (CAD), is available for DOS, a character-based, single-tasking, single-user operating system. Microsoft Windows allows users to move from one application to another, allows 2 different programs to automatically swap information, simplifies device drivers, and offers memory management functions. OS/2, developed jointly by IBM Corp. and Microsoft Corp., permits multitasking, allows access of up to 16 megabytes of memory, and is a single-user system. Its graphical interface, Presentation Manager, gives users the ease of working with icons and windows. Few applications are available for OS/2, and the few CAD packages that are available do not support the Presentation Manager interface. UNIX is a multitasking, multiuser operating system. There is a shortage of applications software for personal computers running UNIX, and, because UNIX is a multiuser operating system, more system administration is required. UNIX runs on a number of platforms and supports networking.