In Software
A software system is called "monolithic" if it has a monolithic architecture, in which
functionally distinguishable aspects (for example data input and output, data processing, error handling, and the user interface), are not architecturally separate components but are all interwoven.Mainframe computers used a monolithic architecture with considerable success. Monolithic architectures implemented on DOS and earlier Windows based PCs often worked poorly with multiple users. This performance degradation is mainly due to poor mechanisms for record locking and file handling across local area networks.
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