AbstractA brief description of the design of the data acquisition system for the TCABR tokamak is presented. The system comprises the VME standard instrumentation incorporating CAMAC instrumentation through the use of a GPIB interface. All the necessary data for programming different parts of the equipment, as well as the repertoire of actions for the machine control, are stored in a DBMS, with friendly interfaces. Public access software is used, where feasible, in the development of codes. The TCABR distinguished feature is the virtual lack of frontiers in upgrading, either in hardware or software.