Which term describes a system that allows only one user at a time?

Which term describes a system that allows only one user at a time?

• A. Single user system
• B. Data bus
• C. Memory manager
• D. Interrupt

Answer: (A)

Understanding how an operating system handles user sessions helps reveal which term fits here. A system that allows only one user at a time is a single-user system. In this setup, the computer is designed for a single logged-in user session at any moment, even though the machine can still run many processes in the background for that user. The emphasis is on limiting simultaneous distinct user logins rather than on overall multitasking. The other terms describe different ideas. A data bus is the pathway for moving data between components inside the computer, not about how many users can be active. A memory manager is responsible for allocating and protecting memory for running programs, not about user concurrency. An interrupt is a signal that temporarily halts the current task to handle something more urgent, which is about task management rather than user access.

Understanding how an operating system handles user sessions helps reveal which term fits here. A system that allows only one user at a time is a single-user system. In this setup, the computer is designed for a single logged-in user session at any moment, even though the machine can still run many processes in the background for that user. The emphasis is on limiting simultaneous distinct user logins rather than on overall multitasking.

The other terms describe different ideas. A data bus is the pathway for moving data between components inside the computer, not about how many users can be active. A memory manager is responsible for allocating and protecting memory for running programs, not about user concurrency. An interrupt is a signal that temporarily halts the current task to handle something more urgent, which is about task management rather than user access.