数字计算机的来临使光学设计发生革命。对数表和机械计算器的书籍在50年代就成了废物,被现在认为是原始的在计算机上运行的第一代射线追迹程序所代替。如今,多数设计者都采用主机或超微型计算机,如数字设备VAX机或日益增长的微机和工程工作站运用的相互作用软件。与此同时,软件研制者还在 The advent of digital computers has revolutionized optical design. Books of logarithmic scales and mechanical calculators became waste in the 1950s, replaced by what is now considered to be the first generation of ray tracing programs to run on computers. Today, most designers use host or minicomputers such as digital devices VAX machines or interactive software used by growing numbers of microcomputers and engineering workstations. In the meantime, software developers are still there