A tutorial and review of object-oriented design of manufacturing software systems

Object-oriented design represents a relatively new method of software system design that provides a means for the development of robust software systems. This approach is what software developers need to deal with the dynamic nature of the manufacturing organization and the processes contained within. This paper presents a tutorial which focuses on the application of object-oriented design and programming to manufacturing software development. This essay begins with an examination of object-oriented software design (OOD) and how it compares with traditional algorithmic design. The discussion reviews the major elements of an object-oriented system and discusses how these elements support the development of complex software systems using examples from manufacturing as support. This is followed by a discussion of the steps to use as one approach to object-oriented design. The paper concludes with a review of object-oriented manufacturing systems reported in the literature.