What tells the computer how to use its components?

The operating system (OS) tells the computer how to use its components. An operating system is a software program that manages the computer hardware and software resources and provides common services for computer programs. The operating system acts as an intermediary between the computer's hardware and the programs or applications that run on the computer. It is responsible for controlling and allocating memory, prioritizing system requests, ensuring security, and managing input/output operations. In short, the operating system acts as the foundation for the computer to function and allows different applications and programs to communicate with the hardware and work together.