What is meant by Time sharing system?

In the field of computer science, sharing resources of a computer through techniques of multi-tasking and multi-programming by many other system users is termed as a time sharing system. 

- It was first introduced in the year of 1960 and eventually emerged as the most popular computing model of the 1970s. 

- With it, occurred a major shift in the technology of designing the efficient computers. 

- These types of systems allowed quite a large number of users for interacting with the same computer system at the same time. 

- Providing computing capabilities was a costly affair at that time. 

- Time sharing greatly brought down this cost by providing these capabilities at a very less cost. 

- Since time sharing allows multiple users to interact simultaneously with the same system, it has actually made it possible for the organizations and the individuals to use a system that they do not even own. 

- This has further led to the promotion of the computers to be used interactively and development of other applications with an interactive interface. 

- The earlier systems apart from being expensive were quite slow. 

- This was the reason why the systems could be dedicated only to one task at a time. 

- The task was carried out through the control panels from where the operator would enter small programs manually through switches so as to load and execute a new program series. 

- These programs would take even up to weeks for completing execution. 

- The realization of the interaction pattern was what that led to the development of time sharing systems. 

- Usually, the data entered by a single user was in small bursts of info and then a long pause. 

- But if there would have been multiple number of users working concurrently on the same system, there activities could fill up the pauses of the single user. 

- The overall process could be made very efficient for a given size of the use group. 

- In the same way, the slice or share of time that was engaged in waiting for network input or tape or disk could be utilized by activities of other users. 

- A system that would be able to harness this potential advantage was difficult to be implemented.

- Even though batch processing was a high at that time, it could only make use of the time delay between two programs. 

- In the early times, the multiplexing of computer terminals in to main frame computer systems was seen.

- Such implementations were capable of sequentially polling those terminals to check for additional action and data requests made by the user of the system.

- Later, came the interconnection technology that was interrupt driven and made use of the IEEE 488 i.e., parallel data transfer technologies.

- Time sharing faded for some time with the advent of the micro computing but again it came back in to the scene with the rise of internet. 

- The corporate server farms cost in millions and are capable of hosting a large number of customers sharing the same resources.

- The operation of the websites using the early serial terminals was in bursts of activity that were followed by idle periods. 

- However, it is because of this bursting that the services of the web sites could be used by a large number of users simultaneously and with the advantage that the delays in communications won’t be noticed by them.

- However, if the server gets too damn busy they will surely start coming in to the notice.

- Earlier some time sharing services such as the service bureaus were offered by many companies. 

- Some examples of common systems that are used for time sharing are:

1. SDS 940
2. PDP – 10
3. IBM 360