introducing microprocessors (1)

Over the past two decades increasirfg miniaturisation, and in particular the advent of integrated circuits, has revolutionised the electronics industry. Nowhere is this more true than in the field of digital electronics, especially in the area of data processing and calculating machines, where large- scale integration (LSI) has made possible low price units of a small size and high performance unheard of even ten years ago. Currently, microprocessors are the `in thing`, so this series of articles is intended to provide a simple introduction to these extremely versatile devices.