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Classification of Computer

Computers can be classified in several ways: 1. By operating principles as digital, analog, or hybrid computers. Digital computers operate by counting and use discrete numbers while analog computers use continuously variable physical quantities. Hybrid computers have features of both. 2. By application as special purpose or general purpose. Special purpose computers are designed for specific tasks while general purpose computers can be used for many different tasks. 3. By size and capability as microcomputers, minicomputers, mainframe computers, or supercomputers - with supercomputers being the largest and most powerful. 4. By number of microprocessors as sequential or parallel - with parallel computers using multiple processors to improve speed. 5. By

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379 views

Classification of Computer

Computers can be classified in several ways: 1. By operating principles as digital, analog, or hybrid computers. Digital computers operate by counting and use discrete numbers while analog computers use continuously variable physical quantities. Hybrid computers have features of both. 2. By application as special purpose or general purpose. Special purpose computers are designed for specific tasks while general purpose computers can be used for many different tasks. 3. By size and capability as microcomputers, minicomputers, mainframe computers, or supercomputers - with supercomputers being the largest and most powerful. 4. By number of microprocessors as sequential or parallel - with parallel computers using multiple processors to improve speed. 5. By

Uploaded by

Jagannath Gujiri
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PRESENTED BY

SUPRABHA

Classification of computers:Computers may be classified based

on
following:
1. the
Operating
principles
(based on their
construction and working)
2. Applications
3. Size and capability
4. Number of microprocessors
5. Word length & Number of users.

1. Classification based on operating


principles:Based on the operating principles,

computer can be classified into one


of the following types: Digital computer
Analog computer
Hybrid computer

DIGITAL
COMPUTER

ANALOG COMPUTER

HYBRID
COMPUTER

A. Digital Computers: - Operate


essentially by counting. All quantities
are expressed as discrete or numbers.
Digital computers are useful for
evaluating arithmetic expressions and
manipulations of data (such as
preparation of bills, ledgers, solution of
simultaneous equations etc)

B. Analog
Computers:-Ananalog computer
is a form ofcomputerthat uses the
continuously changeable aspects of
physical phenomena such
aselectrical,mechanical, or
hydraulicquantities tomodelthe
problem being solved. In digital
contrast, computersrepresent varying
quantities symbolically, as their
numerical values change.

C. Hybrid Computers:-are computers


that exhibit features ofanalog
computersanddigitalcomputers. The digital
component normally serves as the controller
and provideslogical operations, while the
analog component normally serves as a solver
ofdifferential equations.

2. CLASSIFICATION BASED ON AREA OF


APPLICATION:Modern computer depending upon their

classifications are classified as:a.SpecialPurposeComputers


b.GeneralPurposeComputers

SPECIAL PURPOSE
COMPUTER

GENERAL PURPOSE
COMPUTER

a) Special Purpose Computers: -Aspecialpurposecomputer


isdesignedonlytomeettherequirementsofaparticulartask
orapplication.Theinstructionsneededtoperformaparticular
taskarepermanentlystoredintotheinternalmemory,sothatit
canperformthegiventaskonasinglecommand.Ittherefore
doesntpossesunnecessaryoptionsandislessexpensive.

b) General Purpose Computers: - A


General Purpose computers are designed to
meet the needs of many different
applications. In these computers, the
instructions needed to perform a particular
task are wired permanently into the internal
memory. When one job is over, instructions
for another job can be loaded into the
internal memory for processing. This, a
general purpose machine can be used to
prepare pay-bills, manage inventories, print
sales report and so on.

3. CLASSIFICATION BASED ON SIZE AND


CAPABILLITY:Classification digital Computer based on size and Capability
Basedonsizeandcapability,computersarebroadlyclassifiedinto
a) Microcomputers(Personal
Computer)
b)
Minicomputer
c)
d)

MICRO
COMPUTER

Mainframe computers
Supercomputer

MINI
COMPUTER

MAINFRAME
COMPUTER

SUPER
COMPUTER

a) Microcomputers(Personal Computer)
Amicrocomputeristhesmallestgeneralpurposeprocessingsystem.Theolderpc
started 8 bit processor with speed of 3.7MB and current pc 64 bit processor with
speedof4.66GB.

Examples:-IBM PCs,APPLEcomputers
Microcomputercanbeclassifiedinto2types:
1.Desktops
2.Portables

b)Minicomputer:-A minicomputer is a medium-sized


computer.Thatismorepowerfulthanamicrocomputer.These
computers are usually designed to serve multiple users
simultaneously(ParallelProcessing).Theyaremoreexpensive
thanmicrocomputers.
Examples:DigitalAlpha,SunUltra.

c)

Mainframe computers: - Computers with large storage

capacities and very high speed of processing (compared to mini- or


microcomputers) are known as mainframe computers. They support a
largenumberofterminalsforsimultaneoususebyanumberofuserslike
ATM transactions. They are also used as central host computers in
distributeddataprocessingsystem.
Examples:-IBM 370, S/390.

d) Supercomputer: - Supercomputershaveextremelylargestorage
capacityandcomputingspeedswhicharemanytimesfasterthanother
computers.Asupercomputerismeasuredintermsoftensofmillions
Instructionspersecond(mips),anoperationismadeupofnumerous
instructions.Thesupercomputerismainlyusedforlargescalenumerical
problemsinscientificandengineeringdisciplinessuchasWeather
analysis.
Examples:-IBM Deep Blue

4. CLASSIFICATION BASED ON NUMBER OF


MICROPROCESSORS:Classification based on number of microprocessors:-

Based on the number of microprocessors, computers can be


classifiedinto
a.Sequentialcomputersand
b.Parallelcomputers

Sequential
computer

Parallel computer

a) Sequential computers: - Any


task complete in sequential computers is
with one microcomputer only. Most of
the computers (today) we see are
sequential computers where in any task
is completed sequentially instruction
after instruction from the beginning to
the end.

b) Parallel computers: -

The
parallel computer is relatively fast. New
types of computers that use a large number
of processors. The processors perform
different tasks independently and
simultaneously thus improving the speed of
execution of complex programs dramatically.
Parallel computers match the speed of
supercomputers at a fraction of the cost.

5. CLASSIFICATION BASED ON WORD LENGTH


AND NUMBER OF USERS:-

a)

Classification based on
word-length
b) Classification based on
number of users

a)Classification based on word-length:A binary digit is called BIT. A word is a group of bits which is
fixed for a computer. The number of bits in a word (or word
length) determines the representation of all characters in these
many bits. Word length leis in the range from 16-bit to 64-bitsf or
most computers of today.

b)Classification based on number of users:.

Based on number of users, computers are


a.Single
User: -into:
Only one
classified
- user can use the resource at any time.
.
b. Multi User: - A single computer shared by a number of users at any time.

c. Network: - A number of interconnected autonomous


computers shared by a number of users at any time.

Single user

Multi user

Network

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