The design, construction, and evaluation of a computer‐controlled electronic cell sorting device is described; the computer performs all cell data analysis and sorting functions. The primary advantage is that the functions are programmable and, hence, any data analysis or sorting format can be implemented (within the constraints of the physical system). The software that has been developed is highly modular and can be manipulated to perform different functions. In our present configuration, the device analyzes data from each cell on a cell‐by‐cell basis, performs the sorting function, stores the cell data for off‐line analysis, and provides a real‐time display (histogram) of cell data.