Mainframe

Definitions: Mainframe

Mainframe

Noun

1. A large digital computer serving 100-400 users and occupying a special air-conditioned room.

2. (computer science) the part of a computer (a microprocessor chip) that does most of the data processing; the CPU and the memory form the central part of a computer to which the peripherals are attached.

Specialty Definitions: Mainframe

Domain	Definitions
Computing	Mainframe n. Term originally referring to the cabinet containing the central processor unit or `main frame' of a room-filling Stone Age batch machine. After the emergence of smaller `minicomputer' designs in the early 1970s, the traditional big iron machines were described as `mainframe computers' and eventually just as mainframes. The term carries the connotation of a machine designed for batch rather than interactive use, though possibly with an interactive timesharing operating system retrofitted onto it; it is especially used of machines built by IBM, Unisys, and the other great dinosaurs surviving from computing's Stone Age. It has been common wisdom among hackers since the late 1980s that the mainframe architectural tradition is essentially dead (outside of the tiny market for number-crunching supercomputers (see cray)), having been swamped by the recent huge advances in IC technology and low-cost personal computing. The wave of failures, takeovers, and mergers among traditional mainframe makers in the early 1990s bore this out. The biggest mainframer of all, IBM, was compelled to re-invent itself as a huge systems-consulting house. (See dinosaurs mating and killer micro). However, in yet another instance of the cycle of reincarnation, the port of Linux to the IBM S/390 architecture in 1999 - assisted by IBM - produced a resurgence of interest in mainframe computing as a way of providing huge quanitities of easily maintainable, reliable virtual Linux servers, saving IBM's mainframe division from almost certain extinction. Source: Jargon File.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Top

Synonyms: Mainframe

Synonyms: central processing unit (n), central processor (n), mainframe computer (n), processor (n). (additional references)

Top

Crosswords: Mainframe

English words defined with "mainframe": mainframe computer. (references)

Specialty definitions using "mainframe": AD/Cycle, ADABAS, Advanced Communication Function/Network Control Program, Aloha Net, Amdahl Corporation ♦ back plane, BISYNC, Bletchley Park ♦ CA-Telon, cellular multiprocessing, Computer Output to Laser Disk, Computers, Mainframe, Control Program, cookie monster, Cray Research, Inc. ♦ dinosaur pen, Direct-Access Storage Device ♦ Enterprise Systems CONnectivity, external priority interrupts ♦ Film Optical Sensing Device for Input to Computers, flexible manufacturing system, front-end processor ♦ greenbar ♦ Head Disk Assembly, hierarchical database, Host Command Facility ♦ IBM 1403, IBM 360, IBM PC XT, industrial robot operator, intelligent database ♦ JavaServer Pages, Job Control Language, Job Entry System ♦ killer micro ♦ like kicking dead whales down the beach, List Enhanced ♦ Management Information System, motherboard, Multiplexor Channel ♦ NETWORK CONTROL OPERATOR, NorCroft, NWSRFS V5.0, or Version 5 ♦ Operating System/Multiprogramming of Fixed Tasks, OS/390 ♦ project development coordinator ♦ ROBOTIC MACHINE OPERATOR ♦ SUPER_CARP ♦ technical operations specialis, TECHNICAL SUPPORT SPECIALIST, three-tier, Time Sharing Option, tn3270, Transaction Processing Facility ♦ UNISYS ♦ Virtual Machine Environment, Volume Table Of Contents ♦ water MIPS. (references)

Non-English Usage: "Mainframe" is also a word in the following language with the English translation in parentheses.

Italian (mainframe).

Top

Modern Usage: Mainframe

Domain	Usage
Screenplays	Coach, if I could input into your mental mainframe for a moment (Drop the Dead Donkey; writing credit: Andy Hamilton; Guy Jenkin)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Top

Commercial Usage: Mainframe

Domain	Title
Books	Developing Mainframe Java Applications (reference) Exploring IBM Eserver Zseries and S/390 Servers: See Why IBM's Redesigned Mainframe Server Family Has Become More Popular Than Ever (reference) Mainframe to Client/Server Migration: Strategic Planning Issues and Techniques (reference) The Mainframe Programmer's Guide to .NET (reference) (more book examples)

Periodicals	Mainframe Report (reference) (more periodical examples)

High Tech	Ns/Portfolio For Mainframe 3.1 Win (1-user) (reference) Rumba Mainframe Edition 7.1 1-user License (reference) (more camera examples; more video game examples; more computer examples; more electronic examples; more software examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Top

Image Slideshow: Mainframe

Top

Photo Album: Mainframe

Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	[Gerry Nowak dialing for a mainframe connection].Credit: National Library of Medicine.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Top

Non-Fiction Usage: Mainframe

Subject	Topic	Quote
Business		The PC market is now approximately twice as large as the mainframe computer market in Japan. (references)
		For example, RISC and mainframe computers dominate in the energy sector, requiring a failure-free environment and "visual" management. (references)
		Telcel has invested some USD 5 million to augment its mainframe and fit-out all of its radio bases in order to make WAP available to its customers. (references)
Economic History	Japan	Japan's domestic software industry has been very modest, with most software still oriented around mainframe or proprietary technologies. (references)
	Austria	Mainframe sales reached $70.6 million (EUR 76.4 million) in 2000, mid-sized systems $94.3 million (EUR 102.1 million), and low-end systems amounted to $195.7 million (EUR 211.8 million). (references)
	Armenia	Traditionally diverse, including metal cutting machine tools, forging-pressing machines, electric motors, tires, knitwear, hosiery, shoes, silk fabric, washing machines, chemicals, trucks, watches, industrial tools, mainframe computers and microelectronics (mostly defense oriented), and software. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Top

Usage Frequency: Mainframe

"Mainframe" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 97.92% of the time. "Mainframe" is used about 719 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Noun (singular)	97.92%	704	9,502
Lexical Verb (base form)	0.83%	6	143,867
Lexical Verb (infinitive)	0.69%	5	157,705
Noun (common)	0.56%	4	175,879
Total	100.00%	719	N/A

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

Top

Expressions: Mainframe

Expression using "mainframe": mainframe computer. Additional references.
Hyphenated Usage
	Beginning with "mainframe": mainframe-based, mainframe-capacity, mainframe-centric, mainframe-class, mainframe-compatible, mainframe-computer, mainframe-driven, mainframe-esque, mainframe-killing, mainframe-level, mainframe-like, mainframe-oriented, mainframe-related, mainframe-resident, mainframe-sized, mainframe-specific, mainframe-type.
	Ending with "mainframe": desktop-to-mainframe, micro-mainframe, micro-to-mainframe, non-mainframe, post-mainframe.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Top

Frequency of Internet Keywords: Mainframe

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Expression	Frequency per Day
mainframe	375
mainframe computer	63
ibm mainframe	35
mainframe job	30
mainframe entertainment	22
mainframe outsourcing	17
ftp mainframe	11
pc vs mainframe	10
mainframe system	9
hercules mainframe	9
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Top

Modern Translations: Mainframe

Language		Translations for "mainframe"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Chinese		�"�脑主机. (various references)

Danish		processorenhed (central processing unit, central processor). (various references)

Dutch		CVE (Cape Verde escudo, central processing unit, central processor), centrale verwerkingseenheid (central processing unit, central processor, main frame), centrale besturingseenheid (central processing unit, central processor). (various references)

Finnish		keskussuoritin (central processing unit, central processor). (various references)

French		macroordinateur, unité centrale de traitement (main frame). (various references)

German		großrechner (central processing unit, main frame, mainframes, processing unit), Hauptgerät. (various references)

Greek		μεγάλο σύστημα υπολογιστή, επεξεργαστική μονάδα (central processing unit, central processor). (various references)

Hebrew		מחשב מרכזי. (various references)

Italian		mainframe, unit� centrale di elaborazione (central processing unit, central processor), unit� centrale (central processing unit, central processor, main frame, processing unit). (various references)

Japanese Kanji		メール交換 (10^6, correspondence, exchange of letters, mace, mail, mail order, mailer, mailing, mailing list, main, main amp, main bank, main course, main culture, main event, main gate, main pole, main stand, main street, main table, main title, main-memory, make, make-up, mate, mechanic, mechanical, mechanical automation, mechanics, mechanism, mechatronics, mega-, mega trend, megacycle, megaton, MT). (various references)

Japanese Katakana		メインフレー� . (various references)

Korean		주�"골격. (various references)

Pig Latin		ainframemay.(various references)

Portuguese		verga do mastro grande, unidade de processamento (central processing unit, central processor), armação principal. (various references)

Russian		большие эвм. (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		glavni okvir. (various references)

Spanish		unidad de proceso (central processing unit, central processor), ordenador central, computador (calculating machine, computer, computers, coupler, digital computer). (various references)

Swedish		huvudram. (various references)

Thai		คอมพิวเตอร์ขนา�"ใหญ่ที่มีสมรรถนะสูง. (various references)

Ukranian		комп'ютер звичайних розмірів. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Top

Derivations & Misspellings: Mainframe

Derivations
	Words beginning with "mainframe": mainframes. (additional references)
Misspellings
	"Mainframe" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: mainflame, mainfraim, mainframer, manframe, Manfrini. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

Top

Rhyming with "Mainframe"

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "mainframe" (pronounced mā"nfrā'm)
4	-f r ā' m	airframe.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Top

Anagrams: Mainframe

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "a-a-e-f-i-m-m-n-r"
	-2 letters: fireman.
	-3 letters: airman, airmen, ammine, anemia, fainer, famine, farina, firman, fraena, immane, infare, maimer, marina, marine, merman, remain.
	-4 letters: afire, aimer, amain, amine, amnia, anear, anima, anime, arena, faena, feria, fermi, finer, frame, frena, inarm, infer, infra, mafia, mamie, mania, maria, mimer, minae, miner, naira, namer, ramen, ramie, reman.
	-5 letters: afar, airn, amen, amia, amie, amin, amir, area, aria, earn, emir, fain, fair, fame, fane, fare, farm, fear, fern, fiar, fine, fire, firm, firn, frae, imam, maar, maim, main, mair, mama, mana, mane, mare, mean, mien, mime, mina, mine, mire, naif, name, near, neif, nema, raia, rain, rami, rani, ream, reif, rein, rife, rime.
	Words containing the letters "a-a-e-f-i-m-m-n-r"
	+1 letter: mainframes.
	+2 letters: firmamental.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.