Talk:mainframe

Could add that this is abbreviated into the acronym(?) "m/f" by technology analysts Forrester.
 * An abbreviation used by only one company or individual is not worth including in a world-wide dictionary. --EncycloPetey 21:23, 25 August 2008 (UTC)

Origin, meaning of "frame"
See recent history, and Equinox ◑ 04:31, 21 February 2024 (UTC)

Comments from 2024
Someone didn't leave his name, but posted the following information on my talk page. Do what you can with it. Equinox ◑ 22:23, 7 May 2024 (UTC)

It is evident from historical sources that the term "mainframe" in computing arose from earlier mechanical terminology that referred not to a cabinet, but to chassis-mounted machinery that might or might not be in a cabinet. (Private-sector systems were enclosed in cabinets, but not so much the early research systems.) Examples of the mechanical terminology can be found in patents up through the early 20th century and in documents concerning mechanical and electromechanical computers. In computing, there was a further emphasis on the specific chassis that held the calculating equipment, to which other components were connected.
 * (the "main frame" of the Moore School differential analyzer, which was not enclosed, and its attachments)
 * ("main frame and various auxiliary units" of the Ural 4)
 * (the use of connected storage devices to reduce "main frame" computing time by caching recurrent calculations)

Equinox ◑ 22:23, 7 May 2024 (UTC)