SHREESH BHARDWAJ

19124051
FY CSE
Difference between mini, micro, mainframe, supercomputer and workstations:

Mini Computer: A minicomputer, or colloquially mini, is a class of smaller computers that

was developed in the mid-1960's and sold for much less than mainframe and mid-size
computers from IBM and its direct competitors. Minicomputers are used for scientific and
engineering computations, business-transaction processing, file handling, and database
management, and are often now referred to as small or midsize servers.

Micro Computers: A microcomputer is a small, relatively inexpensive computer with a

microprocessor as its central processing unit. It includes a microprocessor, memory and
minimal input/output circuitry mounted on a single printed circuit board. In the
workplace, microcomputers have been used for applications including data and word
processing, electronic spreadsheets, professional presentation and graphics programs,
communications and database management systems.

Mainframe Computers: Mainframe computers or mainframes are computers used

primarily by large organizations for critical applications; bulk data processing, such as
census, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise resource planning; and transaction
processing. Mainframes (also called "big iron") are powerful computers used for large
information processing jobs. They are mainly used by government institutions and large
companies for tasks such as census, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise resource
planning, and financial transaction processing.

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SHREESH BHARDWAJ
19124051
FY CSE

Supercomputers: A supercomputer is a computer that performs at or near the currently

highest operational rate for computers. Traditionally, supercomputers have been used for
scientific and engineering applications that must handle very large databases or do a great
amount of computation (or both). A supercomputer is a computer with a high level of
performance as compared to a general-purpose computer. The performance of a
supercomputer is commonly measured in floating-point operations per second instead of
million instructions per second.

Workstations: A workstation is a special computer designed for technical or scientific

applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at a time, they are commonly
connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems.
A workstation (WS) is a computer dedicated to a user or group of users engaged in
business or professional work. It includes one or more high resolution displays and a faster
processor than a personal computer (PC). ... A workstation may also have a higher-speed
graphics adapters and more connected peripherals.

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