MICRO Processor Based Information Handling System

Word Processing Systems are used in offices to display and store information for the purposes of direct composition, editing and final typing of large documents such as technical manuals, project proposals, status reports and also letter-perfect management correspondence. However, the use of such processing ' systems in information centres and libraries has not proved very successful and this can be attributed to their limited capabilities to process information. Of late, the introduction of micro-processors in this area has ushered in a series of new products which can be tried in such centres. Quite a number of information display systems with built in micro-processors have appeared in the market.

A micro-processor (Intel-8080 pp) based information handling system with archival storage which is being designed and developed for use in the Information Centre for Aeronautics at the National Aeronautical Laboratory, Bangalore, is described. This system is aimed to help the centre in its activities like circulation control, ordering and acquisition and to a limited extent search for documents recorded on magnetic tape. The various capabilities of the system for direct composition, editing and production of hard copies of documents and the format features are also discussed.