Superminicomputer

Super Mini computers have become the successor to the industrial use of 16-bit computers since the late 1970s.

They were often referred to as " 32-bit Super Minis". They had their main application in the technical field, in use for CAD, CAM, FEA and other CA techniques. A whole generation of engineers they learned at the University to know and worked with them for about 15 years, until then -priced PC Networks replaced the Super Mini Computer.

The superminis often served as a departmental or group computer. Normal configurations allowed approximately ten to thirty users to work on alpha-numeric or graphical terminals to the radially- wired computer. Common tasks such computer systems were the introduction of CAD, the semi-automated generation of bills of materials and routings in mechanical engineering and electrical engineering, the layouts of electronics boards, simulating and computing of fluid flows in the turbines and aircraft, or the CNC programming of numerically controlled machine tools.

The best-known suppliers of these computers were the two companies DEC and PR1ME. Even computers from Data General ( "Eclipse " series ) have become known as superminis. Programming language most commonly used at that time was still in the states Fortran FORTRAN IV and FORTRAN 77 as then C mid-1980s was more prevalent as the programming language, the transition to Unix came as an operating system for superminis. Later provider of Unix superminis was then Siemens - Nixdorf.

• Historical Computers