Almost 4 years have elapsed since Dr. Ken Sakamura of The University of Tokyo first proposed the TRON (the realtime operating system nucleus) concept and 18 months since the foundation of the TRON Association on 16 June 1986. Members of the Association from Japan and overseas currently exceed 80 corporations. The TRON concept, as advocated by Dr. Ken Sakamura, is concerned with the problem of interaction between man and the computer (the man-machine inter face), which had not previously been given a great deal of attention. Dr. Sakamura has gone back to basics to create a new and complete cultural environment relative to computers and envisage a role for computers which will truly benefit mankind. This concept has indeed caused a stir in the computer field. The scope of the research work involved was initially regarded as being so extensive and diverse that the completion of activities was scheduled for the 1990s. However, I am happy to note that the enthusiasm expressed by individuals and organizations both within and outside Japan has permitted acceleration of the research and development activities. It is to be hoped that the presentations of the Third TRON Project Symposium will further the progress toward the creation of a computer environment that will be compatible with the aspirations of mankind.

The proceedings of the third TRON symposium presented here cover all aspects of the TRON project which aims at establishing the new computer architecture for the 1990s. The papers review the current status of development of TRON and its various subprojects as well as examine future trends. ITRON, BTRON, CTRON, MTRON, and TRON VLSI CPU chips are described. This volume gives an analysis, both generally and in-depth, of computer systems of the next decade.

I wish to extend my warm greetings to you all on behalf of the TRON Association, on this occasion of the Seventh International TRON Project Symposium. The TRON Project was proposed by Dr. Ken Sakamura of the University of Tokyo, with the aim of designing a new, comprehen sive computer architecture that is open to worldwide use. Already more than six years have passed since the project was put in motion. The TRON Association is now made up of over 140 co m panies and organizations, including 25 overseas firms or their affiliates. A basic goal of TRON Project activities is to offer the world a human-oriented computer culture, that will lead to a richer and more fulfilling life for people throughout the world. It is our desire to bring to reality a new order in the world of computers, based on design concepts that consider the needs of human beings first of all, and to enable people to enjoy the full benefits of these com puters in their daily life. Thanks to the efforts of Association members, in recent months a number of TRON-specification 32-bit microprocessors have been made available. ITRON-specification products are continuing to appear, and we are now seeing commercial implementations of BTRON specifications as well. The CTRON subproject, mean while, is promoting standardization through validation testing and a portability experiment, and products are being marketed by sev eral firms. This is truly a year in which the TRON Project has reached the practical implementation stage.

It has been almost 5 years since the inauguration of the TRON project, a concept first proposed by Dr. K. Sakamura of the University of Tokyo. The TRON Association, which was founded as an independent organization in March 1988, has been taking over the activities of the earlier TRON Association, which was a division of Japan Electronic Industry Development Association (JEIDA). It has been expanding various operations to globalize the organizations activities. The number of member companies already exceeds 100, with increasing participation from overseas companies. It is truly an awaring historical event that so many members with the same qualifications and aims engaged in the research and development of the computer environment could be gathered together. The TRON concept aims at the creation of a new and complete environment beneficial to both computer and mankind. It has a very wide scope and great diversity. As it includes the open architecture concept and as the TRON machine should be able to work with various foreign languages, the TRON is targetted to be used internationally. In order for us to create a complete TRON world, at though there are several TRON products already on the market, continuous and aggressive participation from as members together with concentration as further development are indispensable. We, the TRON promoters, are much encouraged by such a driving force.

It is almost six years since the inauguration of the TRON project, a con cept first proposed by Dr. K. Sakamura of the University of Tokyo, and it is almost 2 years since the foundation of the TRON Association on March 1988. The number of regular member companies registered in the TRON Association as of November 1988 is 145 which is a new re cord for the Association. Some of this year's major activities that I would particularly like to mention are: - Over 50 TRON project-related products have been or are about to be introduced to the marketplace, according to a preliminary report from the Future Study Committee of the TRON Association. In par ticular, I am happy to say that the ITRON subproject, which is ahead of the other subprojects, has progressed so far that several papers on ITRON applications will be presented at this conference, which means that the ITRON specifications are now ready for application to em bedded commercial and industrial products.