1  1. What is an “operating system”

1.1 Operating Systems (Mac, Windows, Linux)

Before going into detail about how to work with files in R it is helpful to have some background regarding operating systmes (keep reading).

1.1.1 An Operating System (OS) is the software that controls a computer

An operating system (OS for short) is the software that controls how a computer operates. Windows and Mac OS (i.e. Mac Operating System) are two very popular operating systems for personal computers.

Another operating system is Linux. This OS is often used to run backoffice computer systems, i.e. the computer systems that keep many critical business operations working - e.g. that keep websites working. Linux is also a popular option with many technical users for their own personal computers.

WHile all operating systems allow you to control a computer, there are differences between operating systems when it comes to the exact ways to accomplish some tasks.

1.1.2 Smartphones have operating systems too

Smartphones are basically small computers. Therefore smartphones have operating systmes too. The very popular ones today are Android and Apple iOS (this is the operating system found on Apple iPhones).

1.1.3 Mac and Linux are similar in a lot of ways

Both Mac and Linux were derived from an older operating system known as Unix. (Unix still exists but has largely been replaced by Linux). For this reason, Mac OS and Linux often do things the same way, while Microsoft Windows might be a little different from both of them. Keep this in mind as we go through this course. It is often the case that what will work on Mac also works on Linux and vice versa.

1.1.4 Flavors of Linux

Linux is “open source” software. That means that no one company owns Linux. The product is freely available for anyone to modify and release their own version. Therefore there are many different “flavors” of Linux. The different flavors of Linux share many similarities but are all different in one way or another. This is similar to how each car company has their own “flavor” of SUV. If you know how to drive one SUV, you can probably drive any SUV. However, the different car companies differentiate themselves with different slight details in the products.

As of today (Jan 2025) some of the popular flavors of Linux include:

  • Ubuntu
  • Debian
  • Red Hat Linux
  • Centos
  • there are many, many, many other flavors of Linux with more coming out all the time.

1.1.5 Know your OS version number

Operating systems are constantly being updated and improved. When looking online for info about your computer or phone it often helps a lot to include the version number for your operating system. For example,

  • If you’re looking for info about how to start the “File Manager” program (see below) on Windows, don’t just search for “How do I start the file manager program”, rather search for “how do I start the file manager program on WINDOWS 11” (or Windows 10, etc.)

  • Similarly, if you’re looking for info about how to start the “Finder” program (see below) on Mac, don’t just search for “How do I start the finder program”, rather search for “how do I start the finder program on Mac OS Sequoia”

  • If you don’t know how to find your OS version number, I recommend that you search for that on your favorite search engine (e.g. google) or on your favorite AI tool (e.g. chatgpt). For example, “how do I find out exactly what version number of Mac OS I have”?

    NOTE: (as of today, to find the OS version on Mac, click the “apple button” at the top left of your menus and choose “About This Mac”.