Type of Computers

Type of Computers

There are three types of computers with respect to Operational Principle:

Analogue Computers
Digital computers
Hybrid Computers

Classification of Digital Computers(By Size & Speed)

Computer are mainly classified into four categories based on their processing speed, size, storage, capacity, etc.

Micro Computers
Mini Computers
Mainframe Computers
Super Computers

1. MICRO COMPUTERS:

Micro computers are commonly known as personal computers. These are small computers that are found in offices, schools, home etc.

These computer are designed to be used by one person at a time. They have Microprocessor chip as the CPU. Many models of Micro Computers are there some sit on desktop, some stands on floors and some are portable. 1975 Ed Roberts, the father of the Microcomputer designed the first Microcomputer, the Altair 8800, which was produced by Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems ( MITS). The original IBM Personal Computer (PC) is shown in the picture.

2. MINI (Midrange) COMPUTERS:

Mini computers have more processing speed and larger storage capacity than Microcomputers. They are used in multi-user environments where more than one person is working on the computer at the same time.

Mini computers were introduced in 1960s. The DEC PDP-12 minicomputer of 1969.

3. MAINFRAME COMPUTERS :

Mainframe computers are more powerful than Mini computer. They are large and expensive computers that can handle a large number of users at the same time.

It was introduced in 1970s. Nearly all mainframes have the ability to run (or host) multiple operating systems. They are capable of storing large amount of instructions and information. They are best suited for big organizations, where centralized data storage and processing are required. The IBM 7094 Mainframe computers of 1970s.

SUPER COMPUTERS:

Super computers are the most powerful and expensive computers. They are built to process complex scientific calculations. They are mainly used in weather forecasting, nuclear, research, launching of rockets, monitoring of satellites etc. The speed of supercomputer is generally measured in "FLOPS" ( Floating point Operations Per Second).