Operating systems: Windows, Linux and the command line
Files, users, permissions, processes and a first look at commands — without claiming you are a system administrator.
Objectives
- Explain what an OS is for
- Compare a Windows folder with a Linux directory
- Say why permissions matter on a shared machine
Skills: Windows · Linux · Permissions · Command line
What an operating system is
The OS is the software that sits between you and the hardware. It starts the machine, shows a desktop or login screen, manages files, users and running programs (processes), and talks to printers and disks. Windows, Linux and macOS are operating systems. Completing this tutorial does not make you an OS expert.
Windows, Linux and macOS fundamentals
Windows File Explorer uses drives such as C:\Users. Linux and macOS use a single tree starting at / with folders like /home. macOS is UNIX-based; the ideas of users and permissions are close to Linux. You can learn both. Do not format a disk unless a teacher or technician asked you to.
Users, permissions and processes
A user account is a named identity on the machine. Permissions decide who may read, write or run a file. A process is a running program. Closing a window usually stops that process. Administrator / root power can damage the system — classroom exercises never ask you to disable security or wipe disks.
Command line basics
A terminal lets you type commands instead of clicking. Common ideas: list files, change folder, print the working directory. On Windows that may be PowerShell or Command Prompt; on Linux/macOS a shell such as bash. This LMS coding lab does not give you a real OS shell on the production server. Python range() in the lab is only a counting exercise, not a file listing of the host.