Automated Measurement with Portable Microcomputers

Portable microcomputers have recently appeared on the market, at the same time as a host of electrical analog or digital sensors for measurement are becoming widely available. Fully portable and even hand held microcomputer data loggers are now being used by field ecologists. Compact portable calipers with printout and data storage useful for travelling museum scientists have recently been developed (Marcus, in press; McAllister and Planck, 1981). A glossary of computer jargon is provided especially for the exploding world of microcomputers which has developed its own special terms, though some are general computer terms.