Open environments and object-oriented methods: the way forward in computer-aided control system design

Two current trends in the computer industry are towards open systems and object-oriented methods. The relevance and significance of these for computer-aided control system design are examined. It is observed that, compared with computer-aided software engineering, there is no open system policy and a lack of design environments. A variation on the open environment for computer-aided software engineering, based on a service-oriented framework and tools, is proposed to rectify the situation, and a reference model is given. The fundamentals of object-oriented methods are described, and their impact on each part of the proposed environment is considered. It is concluded that the combination of an open environment and object-oriented methods gives an opportunity for progress in computer-aided control system design that needs to be grasped if the world-wide control community is to benefit.<>