Context: Small, cheap discoidal ceramic capacitors have existed since the 1930s, and remain in widespread use. Since the 1980s, surface mount packages for capacitors have been widely used. These packages are extremely small and lack connecting leads, allowing them to be soldered directly onto the surface of printed circuit boards. Surface mount components avoid undesirable high-frequency effects due to the leads and simplify automated assembly, although manual handling is made difficult due to their small size.

Question: Since when have inexpensive ceramic disc capacitors existed?
Answer: the 1930s

Question: Since when have surface mount packages for capacitors been commonly in use?
Answer: the 1980s

Question: What do surface mount packages lack that allows their use on the surface of printed circuit boards?
Answer: connecting leads

Question: What is one benefit of using surface mount components?
Answer: simplify automated assembly

Question: What is one difficulty when using surface mount components?
Answer: manual handling is made difficult due to their small size

Question: What happened since the 1940s? 
Answer: Unanswerable

Question: What has been in use since the 1990s?
Answer: Unanswerable

Question: What do surface mount packages have that allows their use on the surface of printed circuit boards?
Answer: Unanswerable

Question:  What is one inconvenience of using surface mount components?
Answer: Unanswerable

Question:  What is one easy part when using surface mount components?
Answer: Unanswerable