The microprocessor as component and tool

Some 30 years ago, the invention of the junction transistor and the operation of the first stored-program computer heralded the separate technologies of semiconductor and computer which are now integrated into a common information processing technology as epitomised by the microprocessor. During this period, the electrical engineer has developed an attitude to the computer as a tool which is different from that adopted by the computer designer producing it as a product, made out of an assemblage of components. These components have recently acquired the complexity and nature of computers, microcomputers, and are finding general application in all areas of electrical engineering. The skills and knowledge appropriate for the use of the computer as a tool must now be blended with those appropriate to the design of the computer as a product if the new microprocessor components are to be used effectively by the professional engineer. They provide new opportunities for ingenuity and bring with them new responsibilities to society at large