  Our world is changing fast. On one hand, technological developments provide
us with new and powerful electronics devices on almost a weekly basis. On the
other hand, the end-user of these electronics is now rarely required to
actually configure the devices, as everything is automated. This
"de-empowerment" of the end-user may be detrimental to the scientific
community. This is because the unique conditions in which a scientific
measurement is performed require the end-user to have unrestricted access to
every variable of the experimental setup. In this compendium, a general
overview of some popular electronic modules is presented, and the different
characteristics the end- user should take into consideration when
buying/designing electronics systems for a new experimental application are
discussed.
