Linux® on the Mainframe

2.1. The mainframe's birth

Before 1940, a “computer” was a human being who did calculations using paper and pencil. Digital or electronic computers were developed to relieve the human computer of boring, iterative calculation work. An electronic computer performed calculations much faster than a human could and did not get tired. An important aspect of the electronic computer was that it could store a program. This distinguished the computer from an adding machine.

The first electronic computers were housed in several cabinets consisting of steel frames with metal covers. The most important cabinet—the main frame—housed the circuitry that performed calculations. The other cabinets housed power units and peripheral devices such as tape drives. ...