An object-oriented operating system is an operating system which internally uses object-oriented methodologies. During the late 1980s, Steve Jobs formed the computer company NeXT. One of NeXT's first tasks was to design an object-oriented operating system. Jobs saw the numerous incompatible operating systems existing at the time (Apple II, Apple Macintosh, Amiga, PC to name a few) and attempted to unite them under the banner of the NeXT operating system. Though hailed as brilliant by industry figures, it gained only a relatively small acceptance in the marketplace. NeXT was later acquired by Apple Computer and its operating system became the basis for Mac OS X in the form of the "Cocoa" frameworks.

An object-oriented operating system is in contrast to an object-oriented user interface, which can be placed above a non-object-oriented operating system like Windows 3.1, Windows 95 or Windows XP. It is common for operating systems to support the concept of WIMP (Windows, Icons, Menus, Pointer or Windows, Icons, Mouse and Pull-down Menus depending on your text). Such systems use an XY pointing device like a mouse to direct a cursor (pointer) on the screen.

One attempt at creating a truly object-oriented operating system was the BeOS of the mid 1990s, which used objects and the C++ language throughout. The system did not become mainstream though even today it has its fans and benefits from ongoing development.

External links

• A newer attemt on creating an Object-oriented operating system