Operating Systems: The Role of Operating Systems in Modern Computing

Abstract

Operating Systems (OSs) are the lowest level of software that serve as a bridge between the hardware resources and the application software, facilitating efficient hardware resource sharing, process control, security and abstraction in various computing environments. Today, in the era of cloud computing, edge computing, IoT, AI and different architectures, OSs can no longer just be used for process scheduling and memory management. This paper adopts a systematic review approach to recent scholarly papers and provides an analysis of the changing roles of operating systems in modern computing. It pulls together research on OS adaptations for virtualization, containerization, real-time constraints, security, and the incorporation of AI. Research gaps are highlighted in various aspects of adaptive learning-driven OS design, secure deterministic execution for agentic AI workloads, and meta-operating systems for the computing continuum. The study reveals that while modern OSs are increasingly scalable, energy-efficient, and interoperable across devices, they still grapple with issues of heterogeneity management and security. Implications for future OS development and research, focusing on intelligent, self-adaptive systems which are able to support emerging paradigms, are discussed.