CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTERS

Computers can be classified in the following methods:

I. Computational Method
I. Size and Capability

I. Classification based on Computational method: Based on the way a

system performs the computations, a computer can be classified as
follows:

 Digital
 Analog
 Hybrid

Digital computer: A digital computer can count and accept numbers and
letters through various input devices. The input devices convert the data
into electronic pulses, and perform arithmetical operations on numbers in
discrete form. In addition to performing arithmetical operations, they are
also capable of:-

1. Storing data for processing

2. Performing logical operations
3. Editing or deleting the input data.

One of the main advantages in the use of digital computers is that any
desired level of accuracy can be achieved by considering as many places of
decimal as are necessary and hence are most suitable for business
application. The main disadvantage is their high cost, even after regular
reductions in price and the complexity in programming.

Example: To calculate the distance travelled by a car in a particular time

interval, you might take the diameter of the tyre to calculate the periphery,
take into consideration the number of revolutions of the wheel per minute,
take the time in minutes and multiply them all to get the distance moved.
This is called digital calculation. A computer using the principle of digital
calculations can be called a digital computer.

Analog Computer: Analog computers process data input in a continuous

form. Data such as voltage, resistance or temperature are represented in the
computer as a continuous, unbroken flow of information, as in engineering
and scientific applications, where quantities to be processed exists as
waveforms or continually rising and falling voltages, pressure and so on. As
the measurements in analog computer are carried out by a few single-
purpose devices, the analog computer offers low cost and ease in
programming.

The main disadvantage of an analog computer is the accuracy factor, and

the limited storage capacity. Hence it is not suitable for processing business
data.

Example: If you see the principle of milometer in a car it does not work with
the same principle as explained in digital calculation. The rotation of the car
wheels move some gears, the movement is transmitted to the meter by a
flexible shaft. The meter itself contains some gears/wheels marked with
numbers and is calibrated to give exact distance travelled in
meter/kilometers. There is no calculation involved by numbers and the
result is obtained by physical phenomenon. This method of calculation is
called Analog method. A computer using analog method of calculation will
be termed an analog computer.

Hybrid Computer: Computer can also be built using some parts employing
digital computations, and some parts based on Analog principles. Such
computers are called Hybrid computer.

Example: In Process Control Computer Systems, the input comes from

devices likes pressure, gauze, thermometers, motors etc. These pressure
control uses analog methods in the relevant areas. The inputs from analog
devices are sent to a digital computation unit that runs the mathematical
model for controlling
the process. These types of computers are called Hybrid because they use
analog methodology in some parts and digital methodology in some others.

II. Classification based on Size and Capability: On the basis of

size and capability, digital computers can be classified as:
 Super Computer
 Mainframe Computer
 Mini Computer
 Micro Computer

Super computers are the largest and most powerful; microcomputers are the
smallest. Mainframe computers are large, expensive computers designed to
meet a large organization’s computing needs. Minicomputers are smaller
than mainframes but still large enough to meet the computing needs of a
medium- sized or small organization. Personal computers, or
microcomputers, meet the computing needs of a medium-sized or small
organisation. Notebook computers provide a personal computer’s capabilities
in a small lightweight portable package. All around us are embedded
computers, special purpose computers that perform control functions in
such devices as microwave ovens, fuel-injected systems and wristwatches.

Super Computer

Supercomputers are the largest, fastest, most powerful, and most expensive
computers made. Like other large systems, many individuals can access
supercomputers at the same time. Super computers are used primarily for
scientific applications that are mathematically intensive. The aerospace,
automotive, chemical, electronics and petroleum industries use
supercomputers extensively. Supercomputers are used in weather
forecasting and seismic analysis. They are found in many public and private
research centers, such as universities and government laboratories.
The first supercomputer was built in the 1960s for the United States
Department of defense. This computer was designed to be the world’s fastest
and most powerful computer of that time. The commitment to create the
fastest, most powerful computer in the world is still the driving force behind
the development of supercomputers. Manufacturers produce relatively few of
any one model of supercomputer, and they spend irallions of dollars on
research and development of new machines.

Supercomputers derive much of their speed from the use of multiple

processors. Multiprocessing enables the computers to perform tasks
simultaneously—either assigning different tasks to each processing unit or
dividing a complex task among several processing units. The first
supercomputer had four central processing units; the massively parallel
processors of today contain hundreds of processors.

Supercomputers are rarely used for input/output-intensive processing, such

as accounting or record-keeping operations.

The first super computer was the ILLIAC IV made by Bur Roughs. Other
suppliers of supercomputer are CRAY, CDC, FUJITSU, NEC etc. A
supercomputer CRAY-1 is considered the most powerful computer today.
The supercomputers CRAY-2 and CRAY-3 developed by Seymore Cray are
wonderful. Supercomputers can process
64 bits or more at a time. Their processing speed ranges from 10,000 million
instructions per sec (MIKPS) to 1.2 billion instructions per sec. They can
support 10,000 terminals at a time. They have huge numbers of storage and
other devices connected to them. A supercomputer was used to alert
scientists to the impending collision of a comet with Jupiter in 1994, giving
them time to prepare to observe and record the event. Leaders in the
development of supercomputers include Cray Research Company, Silicon
Graphics, Thinking Machines Corporation. Fujitsu, IBM, and Intel. Cray
Research Company, founded by Seymour Cray in 1972, has been the
undisputed leader in this segment of the computer industry ever since.
Silicon Graphics challenged that lead in 1995. Then, in 1996, it merged with
Cray, which became a subsidiary of Silicon Graphics. Cray research recently
delivered a 256 processor system
to the, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology And Silicon Graphics opened a
technology center, directly connected to Silicon Graphics headquarters in
California, to develop supercomputer applications in China. Thinking
Machines has produced a super4computer called the Connection Machine,
which has over 64,000 processors. The Connection Machine is reasonably
priced at $5 million. Silicon Graphics is mass-marketing the Cray T90 and
Cray J90 (several hundred have been sold to date) with price tags of
$500,000 to $2,500,000 Supercomputers have traditionally ranged in price
from $2 million to $20 million.

Mainframe

Mainframes are less powerful and cheaper than Super computers.

However, they are big general purpose computers capable of handling all
kinds of scientific and business applications. Mainframes, are used for
applications as payroll computations, accounting, business transactions,
information retrieval, and airline seat reservations. Mainframes can process
several million instructions per second. More than 1,000 remote terminals
can be supported by a Mainframe. Mainframes have large on-line secondary
storage capacity. A number of different types of peripheral devices like
magnetic tape drivers, hard disk drive, visual display units, plotters,
printers and telecommunication terminals can be attached with Mainframe
computers.

Since the first UNIVAC I was sold in 1951, the mainframe computer has
been the cornerstone of the computer industry. IBM. The giant of the
computer industry, captured the mainframe market in the late 1950s and
made its name and fortune manufacturing mainframe computer systems.

The typical mainframe computer occupies much of a large room. Like

supercomputers, mainframes require an environment with closely monitored
humidity and temperature. For input/output-intensive operations,
mainframe computers are much more suitable than supercomputers. Many
modern mainframes have multiprocessing capabilities, however, they are
generally limited to fewer processors.

A mainframe computer system is usually composed of several computers in

addition to mainframe, or host processor. The host processor is responsible
for controlling the other processors, all the peripheral devices, operations. A
front end processor is responsible for handling communications to and from
all the remote connected to the computer system. Sometimes a backend
processor is used to handle data retrieval operations. Although the host
computer could perform all these operations, it can be used more efficiently
if relieved of time consuming chores that do not require processing speed.

Mainframe computer systems are powerful enough to support several

hundred users simultaneously at remote terminals. Terminals can be
located near the computer or miles away. The capability to process many
programs concurrently for multiple users is known as multiprogramming.

Mini

This type of computer performs data processing activities in the same way as
the Mainframe but on a smaller scale. The cost of minis is lower. As the
name, a minicomputer is small compared with a Mainframe and may be
called a scaled down The creation of integrated circuits suitable for
computers enabled designers to shrink the size of the computer. Before
Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) released the first DEC PDP-8
minicomputer in 1968, most medium sized organizations were priced out of
the computer market because they couldn’t afford mainframe computers.
The DEC computer cost around
$50,000 a considerable savings compared with $200,000 mainframe of that
time.

Like mainframes, most minicomputers are multiuser systems. Many of

today’s minicomputers can accommodate as many as 200 users working
from individual terminals. The major difference between mainframe and
minicomputers is in scale. Minicomputers can perform the same types of
tasks as mainframes, but minicomputers are a little slower. Like
mainframes, minicomputers can accommodate remote users but not as
many.

The most popular Minicomputers or minis, are Nova, Dec, PDP_II and IBM
series.

Micro
This is the smallest category of computers, consisting of a
microprocessor and associated storage and input/output devices. These are
also called Personal Computer systems. Microcomputers were first available
for widespread use in the 1970’s, when it became possible to put the entire
circuitry of computers (CPU) into a small silicon chip.

Personal computers is so named because it is designed for personal

use. IBM, the foremost computer manufacturing firm in the world,
introduced the first PC named as IBM-PC. Personal computers are classified
on the basis of size and portability. There are different types of
microcomputer platforms with varying capabilities. The most common type
of microcomputer is a desktop computer, which is a nonportable personal
computer.
Portable computers are those personal computers that are light enough to
be easily transported. Portable personal computers that are small enough to
be set on the lap of a user are called laptop computers, notebook computers
are approximately the size of a book. Portable personal computers that can
be put in a pocket are called pocket or palm-sized computers.

The boundary between workstations and personal computers is becoming

less distinct. Today’s best normal personal computers are more powerful
and offer more precise displays that the workstations of the recent past. The
new Pentium pro microcomputers have multiprocessing capabilities. In
addition, the distinction between workstation and microcomputers is
becoming blurred because of the most powerful workstations. These
workstations can be equipped so that more than one person can use the
workstation at once, in
effect making the work station a minicomputer.

Most microcomputers enable the user to switch between tasks. This

capability is known as multitasking, a single user variation on
multiprogramming. Multitasking can be a great timesaver.

Hardware and Software

We some across two terms quite frequently in relation to computers.

These are Hardware and Software. Let us define these terms. We will discuss
about them in more details later.

Hardware – Hardware refers to the physical components of a computer. The

devices that physically ensure intake of data, storing them, processing them
and displaying them are called Hardware.

Software – Software consists of sequence of instructions, in the form of a

program to perform a particular task on a computer.