A case study for data management in a CIM environment

The authors concentrate on integrating the data stored in various databases, i.e. the problems of data distribution and data actualization. A detailed discussion of a sample CIM (computer integrated manufacturing) application is given. This sample application shows that data distribution in CIM systems is necessary and that a synchronous update of replicated data is not always sufficient. A mechanism to describe the distribution of various data partitions and their relationship in the sense of the exchange of data modifications (data actualizations) is presented. Additionally, the sample application shows that CIM systems not only have to manage data but also the processes or programs which use the data