How are digital computer systems classified, and what are their characteristics?

Digital computer systems are typically classified into four categories: supercomputers, mainframe computers, minicomputers, and microcomputers.

1. Supercomputers: These are the most powerful and the fastest computers. They are used for complex scientific calculations, weather forecasting, nuclear research, and similar tasks. They have the ability to process billions of instructions per second.

2. Mainframe Computers: These are large and powerful computers, but not as powerful as supercomputers. They are used by large organizations for critical applications, such as bulk data processing, enterprise resource planning, and transaction processing.

3. Minicomputers: These are mid-sized computers. In terms of power, they stand between mainframes and microcomputers. They are used in manufacturing processes, in businesses for sales analysis, and by universities for research purposes.

4. Microcomputers: These are the most common type of computers and are what most people are familiar with. They are small, relatively inexpensive, and are used by individuals and businesses for various tasks such as word processing, internet browsing, and email.

Each of these types of computers has its own characteristics in terms of processing power, cost, size, and the tasks they are used for.