Software for microcomputers in libraries and information units
| Published date | 01 January 1983 |
| Pages | 31-48 |
| Date | 01 January 1983 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb044587 |
| Author | Lucy A. Tedd |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
THE ELECTRONIC LIBRARY
Software for micro-
computers in libraries and
information units
Lucy
A.
Tedd
Abstract: Microcomputers are increasingly being used in libraries and information units
and this paper provides an overview of the software available for these applications. A
description of a computer system's software is given as well as a checklist of points
to
consider
when acquiring software. The available software is described under the headings of basic
software, word processing software, database management systems, inhouse information
retrieval software, software for assisting with the searching of external online information
retrieval systems, inhouse library housekeeping software, and financial and management
software. Many references are given as well as the names and addresses of organisations
supplying software.
1.
Introduction
The 1970s saw the emergence of microcomputer systems which are manufactured
using very large scale integration (VLSI) technology. Using this technology,
electronic circuits representing resistors, capacitors and transistors do not need to
exist as separate components but are produced using photographic techniques on a
'chip'
of silicon. The chips, or microprocessors, commonly used in micro-
computer systems include the Intel 8080A, the Zilog Z80 (which is an enhance-
ment of the Intel 8080A) and the 6502. Recently more sophisticated micro-
processors (e.g. Zilog Z8000, Motorola 68000 and the Intel 8088) are being manu-
factured which provide faster processing speeds and more facilities; microcomputers
based on these microprocessors are referred to as '16-bit microcomputers' because
the word length of these processors is 16 bits. The microprocessor forms the
central processing unit of a microcomputer system which also has facilities for
storing information and for inputting and outputting information. Microcomputer
systems vary in price from tens of pounds to thousands of
pounds.
At the low end
of the range they might be used as personal or home computing systems whereas at
the higher end of the range, especially with the increase of storage facilities on hard
disks,
they can be used for more serious computing. Examples of microcomputers
include Commodore Pet, Apples, Tandy TRS-80, Intertec Superbrain and
Research Machines Ltd 380Z. Recently mainframe computer manufacturers (such
21
THE ELECTRONIC LIBRARY
as IBM and Burroughs) and minicomputer manufacturers (such as Digital Equip-
ment Corporation (DEC) and Data General) have entered the microcomputer
market. Rorvig [1], Gilchrist [2] and Rowat [3] give a good introduction to micro-
computers and their
use
in libraries. The incredible decrease in the cost of computing
power makes it feasible in the 1980s for a library or information unit to have its
own microcomputer system. Burton [4] produced a directory of users of micro-
computers in UK libraries and information units in 1981 which had sixty entries.
Microcomputer systems can be used for a variety of purposes which include
assisting with searching of external online information retrieval systems, running
local inhouse information retrieval systems and assisting with general library
housekeeping procedures. Examples of applications are often described in the
monthly newsletter Small Computers in Libraries published by the Graduate
Library School, University of Arizona, Tucson.
2.
Software
Software is the term used to describe all the types of programs, or lists of instruc-
tions,
which are necessary to enable the computer system to carry out its work;
Saffady [5] provides a good introduction. The basic instructions which a
computer, or really a central processor unit, can understand, using the '0's and '1's
of the binary notation, are known as machine-code
instructions.
These instructions
are very primitive and so most programs are written in specially designed
languages known as high level languages; examples include Basic, Cobol, For-
tran, Pascal and
PL/1.
Although programs written in a high level langauge are gen-
erally independent of the computer on which they are run, this is not always the
case as various 'dialects' which are computer-dependent are often used. This is par-
ticularly true of
Basic,
a language available on nearly all microcomputer systems.
Basic (Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) was invented in the
early 1960s as a language for introducing students to programming and has never
been defined (as have Cobol, Fortran etc.) by the American National Standards
Institute. As a result there are many versions of
Basic
available on different micro-
computer systems.
Before a program written in a high level language can be run on a particular
computer the statements in the high level language must be checked and translated
into the relevant machine-code instructions. This is usually achieved using a
special program called a compiler which converts all the statements of the high
level language program into machine-code and then executes the machine-code
program. An alternative, which is often available for Basic on microcomputer
systems, is to use an interpreter. An interpreter understands and obeys each state-
ment of the program as it is encountered. Interpreted Basic is much slower in
execution than compiled Basic and is therefore not desirable for programs that will
be run routinely, or which process large amounts of data. Compilers and interpreters
are processor dependent and it cannot be assumed that all microcomputer systems
will be able to process all high level languages.
Another major program, or set of programs, is the operating system. This super-
vises the running of all other programs through the computer and controls the input
32 Vol. 1, No. 1, January 1983
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