資料來源 : pyDict
小型計算機
資料來源 : WordNet®
minicomputer
n : a digital computer of medium size
資料來源 : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing
minicomputer
A computer built between about 1963 and 1987,
smaller and less powerful than a {mainframe}, typically about
the size and shape of a wardrobe, mounted in a single tall
rack.
Minicomputers were characterised by short {word} lengths of 8
to 32 {bit}s, limited hardware and software facilities and
small physical size. Their low cost made them suitable for a
wide variety of applications such as industrial control, where
a small, dedicated computer which is permanently assigned to
one application, is needed. In recent years, improvements in
device technology have resulted in minicomputers which are
comparable in performance to large {second generation
computers} and greatly exceed the performance of {first
generation} {computers}.
The processor was typically built using low integration logic
{integrated circuits} - {TTL} or maybe {ECL}, thus
distinguishing it from a {microcomputer} which is built around
a {microprocessor} - a processor on a single (or maybe a few)
ICs.
{DEC}'s {PDP-1} was the first minicomputer and their {PDP-11}
was the most successful, closely followed (in both time and
success) by the {VAX} (which {DEC} called a "{super
minicomputer}").
Another early minicomputer was the {LINC} developed at {MIT} in
1963.
Other minicomputers were the {AS/400}, the {PRIME} series, the
{AP-3}, {Olivetti}'s {Audit 7} and the {Interdata 8/32}.
[Others?]