Elsevier's Dictionary of Computers, Automatic Control and Data Processing [antikvár]

PUBLISHER'S NOTE By the most conservative estimates, there are at least two thousand basic languages in current use today. By some definitions, this figure could reach more than five thousand languages, not including a vast number of dialects. Added to this, the incredible current advances in engineering and science have rendered most existing technical dictionaries obsolete. The accumulated result has been a fast growing need for specialized multilingual dictionaries, particularly in the face of international scientific cooperation and exchange of knowledge. To meet this need, Elsevier publishes a number of multilingual technical dictionaries relating to special fields of science and industry. Edited under authoritative auspices, they draw upon rich sources of knowledge. In planning this dictionary, the author and publishers have been guided by the principles proposed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The aim is to ensure that each die-tionarj' will fit into place in a pattern which may progressively extend over all interrelated fields of science and technology and cover all necessary languages. For each language, there is an alphabetical list of words referring to corresponding numbers in the basic table. The system of thumb-indexing enables one to find any language at once. The binding, smooth paper and convenient size result in an enjoyable and valuable reference book. PREFACE This Dictionary of Computers, Automatic Control and Data Processing is a revised edition of the Dictionary of Automation, Computers, Control and Measuring published in 1960. It differs considerably from the first edition. On the one hand, the number of terms relating to Information Processing and Computers has been expanded appreciably, while on the other hand, of the fields Control and Measuring only the field of Automatic Control has been retained in view of its strong link with Computer technology. In preparing the new edition grateful use has been made of the excellent definitions contained in glossaries and vocabularies produced by the International Federation for Automatic Control (IFAC) and the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP). My grateful thanks are due to all those who have given me advice and assistance in preparing this revised edition. Once more, I have been able to count on the invaluable help of my wife, who prepared the manuscript with great care and helped in the task of reading proofs. W.E. Clason