  Atomic physics experiments often require a complex sequence of precisely
timed computer controlled events. A distributed GUI-based control system
designed with such experiments in mind, The Cicero Word Generator, is
described. The system makes use of a client-server separation between a user
interface for sequence design and a set of output hardware servers. Output
hardware servers are designed to use standard National Instruments output
cards, but the client-server nature allows this to be extended to other output
hardware. Output sequences running on multiple servers and output cards can be
synchronized using a shared clock. By using an FPGA-generated variable
frequency clock, redundant buffers can be dramatically shortened, and a time
resolution of 100ns achieved over effectively arbitrary sequence lengths.
