The privileged workstation from which the operation of a computer system can be monitored and controlled. In current systems the console is usually a VDU or keyboard-monitor combination. In early systems the control unit at the console was often a teleprinter. As systems became larger and more sophisticated the consoles first became more complex and then much simpler as the development of operating systems advanced. Some recent medium-sized systems do not have a console. Microcomputers each act as their own console.