Stylistics from Main frame to Microcomputer
Louis Tonko Milic · Literary and Linguistic Computing · 1988
Since personal computers (microcomputers) have become widely and available and often reside in the homes of researchers, the question has arisen whether it would be possible to work with linguistic data bases on such machines, sparing the researcher from manipulating Job Control Language, having to use tapes and disks stored in computer centers and suffering the delays which this procedure imposes. The answer is “Yes, but. ” The transition from large machines to small ones also has costs and limitations Mainframe files tend to be large because large computers make possible the processing of large files Now that a more convenient and accessible, even portable, technology is here, a new procedure is in order Several adaptations can be made more efficient programming, smaller data bases New technology demands new concepts What the microcomputer is bringing to our attention is the possibility that unlimited size is not essential in computer stylistics The constraints of microcomputers may direct us to a review ofSample and data base size and the construction of simpler, more modular analytical algorithms