Minicomputer

A minicomputer is a historical term for a computer built from the early 1960s into the 1980s, less powerful than a mainframe, but cheaper and smaller, often mounted in a single as tall as a wardrobe or less.
==Description==
Minicomputers were characterized by short word lengths of 8 to 32 bits, limited hardware and software facilities, and relatively small physical size for the time. Their lower cost made them suitable for a wide variety of applications, such as industrial control, where a smaller, dedicated computer needed to be permanently assigned to one application. Improvements in device technology resulted in minicomputers that were comparable in performance to large s and greatly exceeded the performance of vintage s.
The processor was typically built using low-integration logic integrated circuits — or sometimes , distinguishing it from a microcomputer which is built around a microprocessor - a processor on a single (or maybe a few) ICs.. 2004-05-12.
===History===
The , released by (DEC) in 1959, is considered to be the first minicomputer. The was released in 1970 and became their most successful model, followed in 1977 by the , which DEC called a "super minicomputer". Another early minicomputer was the , designed at the in 1962 and built in the following year. Other minicomputer examples include the , the , and the .
In recent years, the role of minicomputers have been supplanted by midsize servers that have adopted microprocessor technology to accomplish similar roles in a smaller form factor.Classification of Computers by Size, BCcampus Open Publishing. Accessed 2020-07-11.
==References==
==See also==
*Apple Network Server, a series of enterprise servers that filled the traditional role of a minicomputer.
==External links==
*Minicomputer at Britannica
*Minicomputer at Techopedia
* at Wikipedia
Category:Computers