Too Long; Didn't Read
The movement toward computer systems began in earnest about 1962. Much of the early work depended on the use of magnetic tape for storage of data, either raw or partially digested, the analysis of data being carried out later, off-line. More recently, computers have been used increasingly for on-line processing. The early work is well known and will not be described here. Some of the more recent systems are basically very close descendants of one or another of the early systems.