minicomputer
min·i·com·put·er
M0314500 (mĭn′ē-kəm-pyo͞o′tər)minicomputer
(ˌmɪnɪkəmˈpjuːtə)min•i•com•put•er
(ˈmɪn i kəmˌpyu tər)n.
minicomputer
| Noun | 1. |  minicomputer - a digital computer of medium size |
n.
minicomputer
minicomputer
minicomputer
[′min·ē·kəm‚pyüd·ər]minicomputer
(computer)Minicomputers were characterised by short word lengths of 8to 32 bits, limited hardware and software facilities andsmall physical size. Their low cost made them suitable for awide variety of applications such as industrial control, wherea small, dedicated computer which is permanently assigned toone application, is needed. In recent years, improvements indevice technology have resulted in minicomputers which arecomparable in performance to large second generation computers and greatly exceed the performance of first generation computers.
The processor was typically built using low integration logicintegrated circuits - TTL or maybe ECL, thusdistinguishing it from a microcomputer which is built arounda microprocessor - a processor on a single (or maybe a few)ICs.
DEC's PDP-1 was the first minicomputer and their PDP-11was the most successful, closely followed (in both time andsuccess) by the VAX (which DEC called a "super minicomputer").
Another early minicomputer was the LINC developed at MIT in1963.
Other minicomputers were the AS/400, the PRIME series, theAP-3, Olivetti's Audit 7 and the Interdata 8/32.
minicomputer
(1) A computer with a small form factor. See mini PC.(2) An earlier medium-scale, centralized computer that functioned as a multiuser system for up to several hundred users. The minicomputer industry was launched in 1959 after Digital Equipment Corporation introduced its PDP-1 for USD $120,000, an unheard-of low price for a computer in those days. Subsequently, a variety of minicomputer systems became available from HP, Data General, Wang, Tandem, Datapoint, Prime Computer, Varian Data and Scientific Data Systems. The single user mini evolved into a centralized system with dumb terminals for departmental use.
During the 1980s and early 1990s, most centralized minicomputers migrated from their dumb terminal architecture into servers for PC networks. The terms "midrange computer" and "server" replaced the venerable minicomputer designation.
High-end, single-user workstations, typically used for computer-aided design (CAD), were also called minicomputers. See midrange computer and mini PC.
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| Minicomputer System |
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| The minicomputer was a centralized computer that served from a handful to several hundred "dumb" terminals. |
minicomputer
minicomputer
An obsolete term for a computer with a speed and memory capacity between that of a microcomputer and a mainframe computer.minicomputer
minicomputer
a medium-scale COMPUTER with sizeable data storage facilities which is often accessible simultaneously from several terminals.As MICROCOMPUTERS and minicomputers have become more powerful in terms of data-processing speed and data-storage capacity, the distinction between them and MAINFRAME computers has become blurred.
minicomputer
- noun
Words related to minicomputer
noun a digital computer of medium size
Related Words
- digital computer
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