Evolution and development of chemical information system.

The article throws light on the evolution and development of chemical information systems (CIS). It also gives the several ways in which it has influenced the information processing and utilization. It also describes the role it has played in the research and development of science and technology. This information system was encountered by two large voluntary changes, one in 1960s and the other in 1980s. The former was a gradual change from the system that depended on paper to a system that largely worked on computers. The latter was a more rapid change to a system that uses the Internet. The computerization was a change that was forced by a pressure that the paper system failed to address the large increase in the amount of information, producing new systems like CAS Registry that had not been possible with paper processing. The second revolution uses the Internet, enabling, for instance, a link between the primary and secondary information, leading to radical changes. Such development is still continuing. This article also describes some background behind these changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]