What an OS does
Understand how an operating system manages hardware and gives applications shared services.
9 min · beginnerNot started0 of 1 complete
Level 0 · Module 2
Operating System Basics
Learn how an operating system manages processes, memory, files, identities, and commands.
What you will learn
- What an OS does
- Kernel vs user space
- Processes
- Threads
- Files and directories
- File systems
- Memory
- Environment variables
- Users and permissions
- Command-line basics
Prerequisites:How computers work
Module progress0 of 10 lessons complete
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Lessons · 93 min
Kernel vs user space
Learn why operating systems separate privileged kernel code from ordinary applications.
9 min · beginnerNot started0 of 1 completeProcesses
Understand how the operating system represents, schedules, and isolates running programs.
10 min · beginnerNot started0 of 1 completeThreads
Learn how multiple execution paths can work inside one process.
9 min · beginnerNot started0 of 1 completeFiles and directories
Understand how operating systems name and organize persistent information.
9 min · beginnerNot started0 of 1 completeFile systems
Learn how a file system maps named files to storage and preserves their metadata.
9 min · beginnerNot started0 of 1 completeMemory
Understand how an operating system gives processes protected virtual memory.
10 min · beginnerNot started0 of 1 completeEnvironment variables
Learn how processes receive named configuration values from their environment.
8 min · beginnerNot started0 of 1 completeUsers and permissions
Understand how identities and access rules protect operating-system resources.
10 min · beginnerNot started0 of 1 completeCommand-line basics
Learn how a shell turns typed commands into operating-system actions.
10 min · beginnerNot started0 of 1 complete
What you will cover
Module units
What an OS does
How the OS manages hardware and provides shared services.
Kernel vs user space
Why privileged OS code is separated from applications.
Processes
How the OS represents, schedules, and isolates running programs.
Threads
Multiple execution paths and shared state within a process.
Files and directories
Named data, hierarchical organization, and paths.
File systems
How named files and metadata map to persistent storage.
Memory
Virtual address spaces, pages, translation, and isolation.
Environment variables
Named process configuration and inheritance.
Users and permissions
Identities, authorization, and least-privilege access.
Command-line basics
Shell commands, arguments, streams, pipes, and exit status.