Resources on Industrial Computer

Industrial Computer

Definition: Industrial Computer

A personal or process control computer that is designed to withstand the rigors of the factory floor. Typically, the device is encased in a metal or EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference) proof casing. In addition, some industrial computers are configured so that maintenance and cold start up are relatively simple. Such devices are used for applications such as data collection, monitoring and programming.

Excerpt from Excerpt from "Enterprise Integration and Communications Systems GLOSSARY." Ted Williams, Gary Rathwell 27 Oct 2006 http://www.pera.net/Tools/Glossary/Enterprise_Integration/Glossary_I.html

Computer

A computer is a machine designed for manipulating data according to a list of instructions known as a program.

Computers are versatile. In fact, they are universal information-processing machines. According to the Church–Turing thesis, a computer with a certain minimum threshold capability is in principle capable of performing the tasks of any other computer, from those of a personal digital assistant to a supercomputer, as long as time and memory capacity are not considerations. Therefore, the same computer designs may be adapted for tasks ranging from processing company payrolls to controlling unmanned spaceflights. Due to technological advancement, modern electronic computers are exponentially more capable than those of preceding generations (a phenomenon partially described by Moore's Law).

Computers take numerous physical forms. Early electronic computers were the size of a large room, and such enormous computing facilities still exist for specialized scientific computation — supercomputers — and for the transaction processing requirements of large companies, generally called mainframes. Smaller computers for individual use, called personal computers, and their portable equivalent, the laptop computer, are ubiquitous information-processing and communication tools and are perhaps what most non-experts think of as "a computer". However, the most common form of computer in use today is the embedded computer, small computers used to control another device. Embedded computers control machines from fighter aircraft to digital cameras.

Excerpt from "Computer." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 23 May 2006, 07:37 UTC. 15 May 2006, 12:35 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer