Object oriented structuring of real time systems

The authors present an approach for structuring large real-time control systems, building on object-oriented techniques. The strategy separates the control of the individual physical resources from the synchronization of the system as a whole. This is achieved by building software models of the resources-internal objects. Local control of the individual resources is encapsulated within these objects; only a general well-defined interface is outwardly visible. The software models communicate through high-level messages, specially designed for expressing the synchronizing aspects of the system. An application-specific entity-a controller-administers the message handling, object synchronization, and operator interface