We have now reviewed a number of these Routledge specialist dictionaries, in both printed and CD‐ROM format, invariably finding them to be reliable, user‐friendly products of great value. This fifth edition of the German and English microelectronics dictionary is no exception. This latest edition is “… an attempt to keep pace with the steadily growing importance of this specialized field”. In the period intervening since the last edition terms have fallen out of use, so are removed from this edition, new ones have been introduced, and others have changed or developed. All is reflected here in a revised edition which makes all the necessary changes and retains the virtues of previous editions and of the series as a whole. Its scope remains comprehensive, covering semiconductor electronics, microlithographic process components, microelectronic circuit technology, microprocessor technology, and software terminology.
Entries are direct to very specific headwords, with numerous sub‐headings for compound terms, and with an exact translation of each term. The pattern is identical in both the English‐German and German‐English sections. There are some very concise definitions in both sections, but primarily this is a source of straightforward exact translations of each of some 30,000 very specific technical terms. Thus, for example, a typical entry gives:
Datenauswertung f data reduction (the process of deriving useful organized data from a mass of raw data); data evaluation
Or, in the opposite section and amidst more than six columns of compound terms beginning “data‐”
∼ reduction Datenaufbereitung f, Datenverdichtung f, Datenauswertung f, Aufbereitung f
To indicate further the specificity of the coverage, the “data reduction” entry quoted above is followed by ∼reduction computer, ∼reduction routine, and ∼reduction software.
So the aims of this updated dictionary are achieved: the vocabulary remains comprehensive and accurate, as well as up to date. A title already well established in its market, this now has its authority reconfirmed and will need to be considered as a necessary acquisition for technical or specialist collections, and for language collections in many libraries.
