Today, the geologist is likely to have a hybrid of any or all of the above, often with everything from PC to mainframe networked together, and each computer platform filling its appropriate role in the total system. The mainframe is best at managing large databases and providing certain computer-intensive applications such as reservoir simulation. Minicomputers offer local peripheral sharing of plotters and digitizers, file serving to local area networks, and scientific applications such as map gridding and contouring. The PC may overlap significantly with the mini-computer in providing geoscience applications, but it is still the work horse in general purpose applications such as word processing and spreadsheet calculations. In addition, it has become the best platform for graphics-oriented programs. | Today, the geologist is likely to have a hybrid of any or all of the above, often with everything from PC to mainframe networked together, and each computer platform filling its appropriate role in the total system. The mainframe is best at managing large databases and providing certain computer-intensive applications such as reservoir simulation. Minicomputers offer local peripheral sharing of plotters and digitizers, file serving to local area networks, and scientific applications such as map gridding and contouring. The PC may overlap significantly with the mini-computer in providing geoscience applications, but it is still the work horse in general purpose applications such as word processing and spreadsheet calculations. In addition, it has become the best platform for graphics-oriented programs. |