disk operating system
<operating system> (DOS) The name of a number of operating systems which
include facilities for storing files on disk. Such a system must handle physical
disk I/O, the mapping of file names to disk addresses and protection of files
from unauthorised access (in a multi-user system).
A DOS should present a uniform interface to different storage device such as
floppy disks, hard disks and magnetic tape drives. It may also provide some kind
of locking to prevent unintentional simultaneous access by two processes to the
same file (or record).
(1998-07-08)
Nearby terms:
diskless workstation « disk mirroring « Disk
Operating System « disk operating system »
disks » disk striping » Dislang
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