Types of Computer Systems

Types of Computer Systems

Para 1

You should be familiar with the differences among computer systems if you want to show a potential employer that you have a fundamental knowledge of computer. Computer come in a variety of sizes and shapes and with a variety of processing capabilities. The earliest computers were quite large because of the crude technologies used; as technological improvements were made in computer components, the overall size of computers began to shrink. Today, the computer CPU of a computer can be smaller than a postage stamp.

crude adj. 粗略的

你应该熟悉不同的计算机系统假如你想要给一个潜在的雇主表示你拥有计算机的基础知识的化。计算机拥有多种尺寸与形状并且有不同的处理能力。最早的计算机相当庞大因为使用了不成熟的技术，技术水平在计算机部件上的提高，过大尺寸的计算机啊开始小型化。今天，计算机处理器能够比一张邮票还小。

Para 2

To provide a basis for comparing their capabilities, computers are generally grouped into four basic categories:

1. Supercomputers, which are the next powerful giants of the computer world;
2. Mainframe computers, which are large, extremely powerful computers used by many large companies;
3. Minicomputers, which are the next most powerful;
4. Microcomputers, which are the least powerful but which you most likely will be required to use in business.

为了给比较计算机的能力提供依据，他们通产被分为4中基本类型：

1. 巨型计算机，它是计算机世界中的超能巨人
2. 主计算机，它体积大，处理能力强，许多大公司使用这种计算机
3. 小型计算机，它的处理能力仅次于上述两种计算机
4. 微型计算机，它的处理能力相对较弱，但在商界用的最多

It's hard to assign a worthwhile definition to each type of computer because definitions can get bogged down on potentially confusing technical jargon. Nevertheless, the following definitions can suffice:

bog n.泥沼

要给每一种类型的计算机都下一个确切的定义并非易事，因为这样做有可能陷入令人混淆的技术术语当中去，但以下这样的定义上可以接受：

• A supercomputer can handle gigantic amounts of scientific computation. It's usually maintained in a special room or environment, and may be about 50,000 times faster than a microcomputer. As a user in business, you probably would not have contact with a supercomputer. However, you might if you worked in the areas of defense and weaponry, weather forecasting, scientific research, at one of several large universities, or for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
• 巨型计算机能处理大量的科学运算。它通常被放置在，专门的房间或环境中，其速度可能要比微型计算机快五万倍。商界用户很可能不会接触巨型计算机，但如果你从事的工作涉及国防和兵器制作、天气预报、科学研究领域，或是在某名牌大学或在国家宇航局，就可能接触过巨型计算机。
• A mainframe computer is a large computer, usually housed in controlled environment, that can support the processing requirements of hundreds and often thousands of users and computer professionals. If you go to work for an airline, a bank, a large insurance company, a large accounting company, a large university, or the Social Security Administration, you will likely have contact, through your individual workstation, with a mainframe computer.
• 主计算机是一种大型计算机，通常安装在受控制的环境里。这种计算机往往能满足数百甚至是数千用户和计算机专业工作者进行工作的要求。如果你在航空公司、银行、大保险公司、大财务公司、大学或社会安全管理部门工作，你就有可能通过你的单个工作站来接触主计算机。
• A minicomputer, also know as a midsize or low-end mainframe computer, is similar to but less powerful than a mainframe computer. It can support 2 to about 50 users and computer professionals. Minicomputers and mainframe computers can work much faster than microcomputers and have many more storage locations in main memory. Many small and medium-sized companies today use minicomputers, so if you go into the business world, chances are good that you will have contact with a minicomputer.
• 小型计算机也可以称为中型或低档的主计算机，跟主计算机类似，但其处理能力逊之。小型计算机可供2-50个用户和计算机专业工作者使用。小型计算机和主计算机的工作速度要比卫星计算机快得多，主存中的存储空间也大得多。如今许多中小型公司使用小型计算机，因此，如果你步入商界，就会有很多机会接触小型计算机。
• The microcomputer is the type of computer that you undoubtedly will be dealing with as a user. Many readers are probably already familiar with the microcomputer, also known as a personal computer (PC). They vary in size from small portables, and laptop computers that you can carry around like a briefcase, to powerful desktop workstations, such as those used by engineers and scientists. A microcomputer-generally used by only one person at a time-uses a microcomputer chip as its CPU. As small as one quarter of an inch square, a chip is made of silicon, a material made from sand. Silicon is referred to as a semiconductor because it sometimes conducts electricity and sometimes does not (semi means "partly"), depending on applied voltages and added chemical impurities("dopants").
• 微型计算机毫无疑问是用户必备的一种计算机。许多读者可能对微型计算机已经熟悉，它也被叫做“个人计算机”（PC）。微型计算机的尺寸各异，从小型便携式的和膝上计算机（可以像公文包一样提在手中）到强大的桌面工作站（例如工程师和科学家使用的那种工作站）。只有一平方英寸的1/4那么大的芯片使用硅制成的，其原料取自沙子。硅是一种半导体，因为它有时导电有时不导电（semi的意思是部分），这取决于施加在其上的电压和添加给它的化学混合物质（“掺杂物”）。

Para 3

In general, a computer's type is determined by the following seven factors:

一般来说，计算机的类型是由以下7种因素决定的：

1. The type of CPU. As noted, microcomputer use microprocessors. The larger computers tend to use CPUs made up of separate, high-speed, sophisticated components.

   中央处理器的类型。大家已经知道微型计算机使用微处理器。较大的计算机趋向于使用由分开的高速、复杂的零部件所构成的中央处理器。

2. The amount of main memory the CPU can use. A computer equipped with a large amount of main memory can support more sophisticated programs and can even hold several different programs in memory at the same time.

   中央处理器能够使用的主存容量。配置大容量主存的计算机能够支持更复杂的程序，而且能同时在主存中容纳几个不同的程序。

3. The capacity of the storage devices. The large computer systems tend to be equipped with higher capacity storage devices.

   存储设备的容量。较大的计算机系统趋向于配置较大容量的存储设备。

4. The speed of the output devices. The speed of microcomputer output devices tends to be rated in terms of the number of characters per second（cps）that can be printed-- usually in tens and hundreds of cps. Larger computers' output devices are faster and are usually rated at speeds of hundreds or thousands of lines that can be printed per minute.

   输出设备的速度。微机输出设备的速度倾向于用每秒钟能打印的字符数（CPS）予以度量，通常每秒钟为几十个，几百个字符较大的计算机的输出设备的速度也很快，通常每分钟能打印几百行或几千行。

5. The processing speed in millions of instructions per seconds (mips). The term instruction is used here to describe a basic task the software asks the computer to perform while also identifying the data to be affected. The speed of large computers can be 30 to 150 mips or more, and supercomputers can process more than 200 mips. In other words, a mainframe computer can process your data a great deal faster than a microcomputer can.

   用每秒几百万指令（mips）度量处理速度。指令一词在此用来描述软件要求计算机所执行的处理速度能达到30-150mips甚至更高。巨型计算机处理速度可达到200mips以上。换句话说，主计算机处理数据的能力要比微机快得多。

6. The number of users that can access the computer at one time. Most small computers can support only a single user; some can support as many as two or three at a time. Large computers can support hundreds of users simultaneously.

   同一时间可以使用计算机的用户数。大部分小型计算机只能由单个用户使用；有些计算机课同时允许两三位用户使用；大型计算机则可支持数百名用户同时使用。

7. The cost of the computer system. Business systems can cost as little as 500 (for a microcomputer) or as much as $10 million (for a mainframe) -- and much more more for a supercomputer.

   计算机系统的价格。商用计算机系统的价格从500美元（一台微型计算机）到1000万美元（一台主计算机）不等，巨型计算机则需花费的更多。

Para 4

It's difficult to say exactly what kind of computer you'll be using in the business environment. Some companies use a combination of computers. For instance, a company with branch offices around the country might use a mainframe computer to manage companywide customer data. To access information from the mainframe, the user might use a microcomputer that sits on his or her desktop. In addition to accessing information from the mainframe computer, the microcomputer can be used to perform specialized tasks such as generating invoices or drafting letters to customers. Although it is still relatively easy to find a company that doesn't use a supercomputer, a mainframe, or a minicomputer to process data, it is difficult to locate a company that doesn't use a microcomputer for some of it;s processing.

要准确描述在商用环境究竟诗何种计算机是很难的。有些公司把几台计算机组合起来使用。例如，一个在国内有很多分公司的公司可以使用主计算机来管理全公司的客户数据，为了从主计算机获取信息，用户可以使用自己桌面上的微型计算机。除了从主计算机上获取信息之外，微型计算机还可以用来完成专门的工作，例如开具发票或起草给客户的信件。尽管要找到不使用巨型计算机、不使用主计算机或不使用小型计算机处理数据的公司相对而言还算容易，但要找到不用一台微型计算机来处理数据的公司就很难了。