WHAT IS A MAINFRAME?

WHAT IS A MAINFRAME, AND WHY IT IS CALLED THAT WAY

A Mainframe is a computer, larger, rather much larger compared to a Personal Computer, that we are so used to see in the desk of so many people in the office or at home. There is no fixed reason or naming principle behind the scenario, of calling it a Mainframe Computer. In the rule of thumb, it is called as a Mainframe primarily for the following reasons:

¨ It has a very powerful CPU or Central Processing Unit¨ It can handle a variety of softwares

¨ It can handle a variety of programming language

¨ It can support all kinds of applications, regardless of its type, such as business processing or scientific processing and so many other types

¨ It can support a variety of storage devices

¨ The storage procedure is highly scientific and also highly organized

¨ It can also support a variety of databases

¨ It can support a large number of users at any particular point of time

¨ It can process a volume of data in a very high speed