mainframe

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mainframe [n][en]

1)	(computer science) the part of a computer (a microprocessor chip) that does most of the data processing; the CPU and the memory form the central part of a computer to which the peripherals are attached

Synonyms :

c.p.u. central_processing_unit central_processor cpu processor unidade_central_de_processamento processador_central processador unidad_central_de_procesamiento procesador_central процессор 处理器 Центральный_процессор центральный_процессор 中央处理单元中央处理器 procesador мэйнфрейма 主机 unità_centrale_di_trattamento centrale_del_processore une_unité_centrale processeur_central cpu의 zentralen_prozessor 중앙_처리_장치 중앙_프로세서 cpuの中央演算処理装置中央処理装置メインフレームプロセッサ processore prozessor processeur 메인_프레임 프로세서

2)	a large digital computer serving 100-400 users and occupying a special air-conditioned room

Synonyms :

mainframe_computer la_computadora_central мэйнфрейма эвм 主机电脑主机メインフレームメインフレームコンピュータ großrechner ordinateur_central 메인_프레임 메인_프레임_컴퓨터

See Also:

digital_computer supercomputer

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing: (http://www.foldoc.org/, Editor Denis Howe)

A term originally referring to the cabinet containing the central processor unit or "main frame" of a room-filling Stone Age batch machine. After the emergence of smaller "minicomputer" designs in the early 1970s, the traditional big iron machines were described as "mainframe computers" and eventually just as mainframes. The term carries the connotation of a machine designed for batch rather than interactive use, though possibly with an interactive time-sharing operating system retrofitted onto it; it is especially used of machines built by IBM, Unisys and the other great dinosaurs surviving from computing's Stone Age.

It has been common wisdom among hackers since the late 1980s that the mainframe architectural tradition is essentially dead (outside of the tiny market for number crunching supercomputers (see Cray)), having been swamped by the recent huge advances in integrated circuit technology and low-cost personal computing. As of 1993, corporate America is just beginning to figure this out - the wave of failures, takeovers, and mergers among traditional mainframe makers have certainly provided sufficient omens (see dinosaurs mating).

Supporters claim that mainframes still house 90% of the data major businesses rely on for mission-critical applications, attributing this to their superior performance, reliability, scalability, and security compared to microprocessors.

[Jargon File]

(1996-07-22)

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