IBM system 360

views updated

IBM system 360 IBM's third generation computer family that used essentially the same architecture to span a wide range of performance and price objectives. The common architecture permitted upward mobility of users to larger versions of the same machine when their workload grew. Programs written for a smaller version of the 360 would run unchanged on the larger machines. Many of the principles embodied in the 360 operating systems are still to be found in contemporary IBM mainframes.