mainframe computers; What are they, what are they for and what are their uses?

Computers have never been simple. Even now that we have them so close at hand, in any home, there are many users who use them without knowing anything about them beyond knowing how to do the task they want to carry out.

Part of all this mess is given by the different types of computers that exist and among which is the macrocomputer, which is our protagonist today.

We are going to see what exactly it is, in addition to knowing why it is characterized. We’ll finish by comparing it to one of today’s most important computing devices: the mainframe.

What are Macrocomputers in computing? Definition

Its about concept contrary to microcomputerwhich is a computing machine that includes a microprocessor.

Today they all have these, so that, based on the definition of the concept, we could say that macrocomputers no longer exist. However, we will limit ourselves to talking about these machines as they were conceived at the time, half a century ago.

Therefore, we have to a mainframe is a large computerseveral meters in fact, based on the use of what were once conventional processors (which today are no longer, of course); it is nothing more than a computer on a very, very large scale.

To better understand the concept, we can say that it differs from the supercomputer in that the latter is completely modularthat is, it has a large number of microprocessors, which work together in the execution of both a single task and several.

What are the main characteristics of this type of macro-sized computers?

Let us always remember that we are talking about this machine as it would be conceived when it was designed and invented. Thus, we have the following characteristics:

• a huge size: As we have said, these machines, which required thousands of vacuum tubes, could measure many meters, a characteristic that, obviously, was reduced over the years thanks to innovations such as mercury delay lines . Even so, they are still devices of the size of a closet or even larger on some occasions.
• Its power and processing speed are very high: Of course, we are talking about the equipment that was at the top, the most exclusive and designed for highly important tasks, so that its CPU was, without a doubt, the best of the moment in any aspect. Even so, the number of processes prevails that are performed at the same time or open programs above the speed at which they can be resolved problems (speed would be the star feature of the supercomputer).
• It had to be able to perform a huge number of operations per second: That was the purpose of computing machines in their infancy and remained for a very long time.
• Another essential aspect to mention is the quality of engineering in the designallowing repairs and programming readjustments to be “easy”.
• All of the above makes this team undoubtedly highly expensivebeing available only to companies and large organizations.
• Additionally, the mainframewhich is a type of mainframe computer, was characterized by its storage capacity and data managementso of course we can also consider this to be a feature of mainframe computers.

Is a Macrocomputer the same as a Mainframe?

Yes and no. A mainframe is a type of mainframe computer., because it meets all the characteristics that we have seen in the previous point. However, this In addition, it acts as a serverbeing a computer to which several others are connected.

On the contrary, not all mainframe computers were designed for this purpose, far from it. Many of them have only worked like calculating machineswithout even having databases. Many others, yes, can and do work as servers, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

However, it should be noted that the mainframe, as such, no longer exists (the “bicharraco” par excellence is the supercomputer), since, as we have seen, the essence of the concept has long since disappeared. In this way… it seems to be up to each person to say whether a mainframe and a macrocomputer are the same.