By inviting me to write a preface, the organizers of the event in honour of Edwin Diday, have expressed their a?ection and I appreciate this very much. This gives me an opportunity to express my friendship and admiration for Edwin Diday, and I wrote this foreword with pleasure. My ?rst few meetings withEdwinDidaydatebackto1965through1975, daysofthedevelopmentof French statistics. This was a period when access to computers revolutionized the practice...