Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a family of operating systems developed by Microsoft for personal computers, servers, and other devices. Its graphical interface and broad software compatibility helped make it a dominant desktop platform.

Windows NT: A Windows operating-system family built around a protected, portable kernel and designed for reliability and security. Its architecture underlies modern desktop and server editions of Windows.
MS-DOS: A command-line operating system for IBM PC-compatible computers, developed by Microsoft. Early Windows versions ran as graphical environments on top of MS-DOS.
Windows Server: Microsoft's Windows operating-system editions designed for server workloads and organizational infrastructure. They extend Windows into identity, file, application, and network services.
macOS: Apple's operating system for Mac computers, integrating its interface with Apple-designed hardware. It is Windows's principal commercial rival on personal-computer desktops.
Wintel: The longstanding partnership between Microsoft Windows and Intel-compatible personal-computer hardware. Their mutual growth helped standardize the dominant PC platform.
Windows API: A set of programming interfaces that lets software interact with Windows services and features. Applications rely on these interfaces to use operating-system capabilities.
Windows 1.0: The first retail release of Microsoft's Windows graphical environment, launched in 1985. It began the product line that developed into the modern Windows family.
Windows Subsystem for Linux: A Windows feature that runs Linux environments and tools alongside Windows applications. It supports development workflows that depend on Linux command-line software.
Linux: An open-source family of operating systems built around the Linux kernel. Its open development model and distribution ecosystem differ from Microsoft's proprietary platform.
IBM PC compatible: Personal computers designed to run software and hardware compatible with the IBM PC architecture. Windows spread widely through this open, multi-manufacturer hardware ecosystem.

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