Editing Minicomputer (section)

===Definition===
[[File:Data General Nova SN 1.agr.JPG|thumb|[[Data General Nova]], {{nowrap|serial number 1,}} on display at the [[Computer History Museum]]]]
The term "minicomputer" developed in the 1960s<ref>{{cite web |title=Minicomputer |website=Britannica.com |quote=Minicomputer... the term was introduced in the mid-1960s. |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/minicomputer}}</ref> to describe the smaller computers that became possible with the use of [[transistor]]s and [[Magnetic-core memory|core memory]] technologies, minimal instructions sets and less expensive peripherals such as the ubiquitous [[Teletype Model&nbsp;33]] ASR.<ref name="Bell 2013"/><ref>{{cite journal
   |title=Case study of a microcomputer-minicomputer link
   |journal=Journal of Microcomputer Applications |volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=225–230 |doi=10.1016/0745-7138(82)90004-5
   |date=July 1982 |last1=Patnaik |first1=L. M. |last2=Anvekar |first2=D. K. }}</ref> They usually took up one or a few [[19-inch rack]] cabinets, compared with the large [[mainframe computer|mainframes]] that could fill a room.<ref>{{cite web |title=Minicomputer |website=Britannica.com |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/minicomputer}}</ref> Later minicomputers tended to be more compact, and while still distinct in terms of architecture and function, some models eventually shrunk to a similar size as large microcomputers.

In terms of relative computing power compared to contemporary mainframes, small systems that were similar to minicomputers had been available from the 1950s. In particular, there was an entire class of compact [[vacuum tube]]-based [[Drum memory|drum machines]], such as the [[UNIVAC 1101]] (1950), and the [[Bendix G-15]] and [[LGP-30]] (both 1956), all of which shared some features of the minicomputer class. Similar models using magnetic [[delay-line memory]] followed in the early 1960s. These machines, however, were essentially designed as small mainframes, using a custom chassis and often supporting only peripherals from the same company. In contrast, the machines that became known as minicomputers were often designed to fit into a standard chassis and deliberately designed to use common devices such as the ASR&nbsp;33.

Another common difference was that most small machines before the 1970s were not "general purpose", in that they were designed for a specific role such as engineering,<ref name="rdbmslateryears20070612">{{Cite interview |interviewer=Burton Grad |title=RDBMS Plenary Session: The Later Years |url=https://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2013/05/102701921-05-01-acc.pdf |access-date=2025-05-30 |publisher=Computer History Museum |date=2007-06-12}}</ref> [[process control]] or accounting. On these machines, programming was generally carried out in their custom [[machine language]], or even hard-coded into a [[plugboard]], although some used a form of ''BASIC''.{{cn|date=August 2023}}{{Example needed|date=February 2024}} DEC wrote, regarding their PDP-5, that it was "the world’s first commercially produced minicomputer".<ref name=DEC57.PRES>{{cite book|title=DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION – Nineteen Fifty-Seven To The Present|url=http://s3data.computerhistory.org/pdp-1/dec.digital_1957_to_the_present_(1978).1957-1978.102630349.pdf|date=1975|publisher=Digital Equipment Corporation}}</ref> It meets most definitions of "mini" in terms of power and size, but was designed and built to be used as an instrumentation system in labs, not as a general-purpose computer.<ref name= Lafferty/> Many similar examples of small special-purpose machines exist from the early 1960s, including the UK [[Ferranti Argus]] and Soviet UM-1NKh.

The [[CDC 160]], circa 1960, is sometimes pointed to as an early example of a minicomputer, as it was small, transistorized and (relatively) inexpensive. However, its basic price of $100,000 ({{Inflation|US|100000|1960|fmt=eq|cursign=$}}) and custom desk-like chassis places it within the "small system" or "midrange computer"<ref>{{cite news
|url=https://www.techwalla.com/articles/what-is-the-difference-between-a-microcomputer-a-minicomputer
|title=What Is the Difference Between a Microcomputer & a Minicomputer|newspaper=Techwalla }}</ref> category as opposed to the more modern use of the term minicomputer. Nevertheless, the CDC 160 remains a strong contender for the term "first minicomputer",<ref name= Lafferty >{{cite web  |url= http://tronola.com/html/who_built_the_first_minicomput.html |title= Who Built The First Minicomputers? |last= Lafferty |first= Stephen H. |date= January 2014 |access-date=January 24, 2014}}</ref> provided the earlier drum machines are excluded as non-transistorized.