{"id":5351,"date":"2025-02-02T10:08:11","date_gmt":"2025-02-02T10:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toshareproject.it\/artmakerblog\/?p=5351"},"modified":"2025-02-02T10:08:11","modified_gmt":"2025-02-02T10:08:11","slug":"the-origin-and-unexpected-evolution-of-the-word-mainframe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toshareproject.it\/artmakerblog\/the-origin-and-unexpected-evolution-of-the-word-mainframe\/","title":{"rendered":"The origin and unexpected evolution of the word &#8220;mainframe&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.righto.com\/2025\/02\/origin-of-mainframe-term.html\">https:\/\/www.righto.com\/2025\/02\/origin-of-mainframe-term.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The origin and unexpected evolution of the word &#8220;mainframe&#8221;<br \/>\nWhat is the origin of the word &#8220;mainframe&#8221;, referring to a large, complex computer? Most sources agree that the term is related to the frames that held early computers, but the details are vague.1 It turns out that the history is more interesting and complicated than you&#8217;d expect.<\/p>\n<p>Based on my research, the earliest computer to use the term &#8220;main frame&#8221; was the IBM 701 computer (1952), which consisted of boxes called &#8220;frames.&#8221; The 701 system consisted of two power frames, a power distribution frame, an electrostatic storage frame, a drum frame, tape frames, and most importantly a main frame. The IBM 701&#8217;s main frame is shown in the documentation below.<\/p>\n<p>The meaning of &#8220;mainframe&#8221; has evolved, shifting from being a part of a computer to being a type of computer. For decades, &#8220;mainframe&#8221; referred to the physical box of the computer; unlike modern usage, this &#8220;mainframe&#8221; could be a minicomputer or even microcomputer. Simultaneously, &#8220;mainframe&#8221; was a synonym for &#8220;central processing unit.&#8221; In the 1970s, the modern meaning started to develop\u2014a large, powerful computer for transaction processing or business applications\u2014but it took decades for this meaning to replace the earlier ones. In this article, I&#8217;ll examine the history of these shifting meanings in detail&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/toshareproject.it\/artmakerblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/mainframe53-w500.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"714\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5352\" srcset=\"https:\/\/toshareproject.it\/artmakerblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/mainframe53-w500.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/toshareproject.it\/artmakerblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/mainframe53-w500-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/toshareproject.it\/artmakerblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/mainframe53-w500-768x548.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>https:\/\/www.righto.com\/2025\/02\/origin-of-mainframe-term.html The origin and unexpected evolution of the word &#8220;mainframe&#8221; What is the origin of the word &#8220;mainframe&#8221;, referring to a large, complex computer? Most sources agree that the term is related to the frames that held early computers, but the details are vague.1 It turns out that the history is more interesting and complicated [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v17.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The origin and unexpected evolution of the word &quot;mainframe&quot; | Artmaker Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The origin and unexpected evolution of the word &quot;mainframe&quot; | Artmaker Blog\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/toshareproject.it\/artmakerblog\/the-origin-and-unexpected-evolution-of-the-word-mainframe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The origin and unexpected evolution of the word &quot;mainframe&quot; | Artmaker Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The origin and unexpected evolution of the word &quot;mainframe&quot; | Artmaker Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/toshareproject.it\/artmakerblog\/the-origin-and-unexpected-evolution-of-the-word-mainframe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Artmaker Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-02T10:08:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/toshareproject.it\/artmakerblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/mainframe53-w500.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bruce Sterling\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/toshareproject.it\/artmakerblog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/toshareproject.it\/artmakerblog\/\",\"name\":\"Artmaker Blog\",\"description\":\"on Toshareproject.it - 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