centralized processing

Processing performed in one computer or in a cluster of coupled computers in a single location. Centralized processing evolved from the computers in the 1960s, which were stand-alone with all input and output in the same room. Starting in the late 1960s, terminals were added throughout a company's headquarters and branch offices that were nothing more than remote input/output devices, known as "dumb terminals." Dumb terminals eventually became smarter as they could be programmed to perform screen formatting.

The Terminals Became PCs
In the 1980s and 1990s, the terminals were replaced with PCs, which is the way most centralized architectures exist today. In a "client/server" environment, the PC performs a certain amount of the application's processing. In a "thin client" environment, the PC functions like a smart terminal of the early days, but handles the graphical interface (GUI), which takes considerable processing. See Windows terminal, client/server, MetaFrame and thin client.