Microcomputers and Statisticians: A 1988 Perspective

Abstract

A user's perception of the capabilities of a statistical package greatly affects the approach and extent of a given data analysis. As microcomputers have evolved into workstations, the standards of statistical software are being greatly altered. Advances in both the hardware and the operating systems associated with microcomputers point the way to a whole new methodology for performing research. This article briefly reviews the state of microcomputer statistical software and then discusses future trends. Keywords. microcomputers, statistical computing, statistical graphics.