Function block applications based on an object oriented middleware

Design methods in the area of automation are dominated by the function block approach. These blocks represent a kind of object with an internal behavior. The blocks interact via input and output variables with their environment. In order to improve the engineering and the system design, other approaches like method invocations or statements about the component quality, coming from computer science, have to be considered. One promising approach among others is the usage of ports for the interaction of objects and the usage of meta information about quality representative attributes. This article describes an approach for a distributed, object-oriented automation system, based on objects interacting via the port concept which can be designed by a high level language DOME-L, offering the additional features for defining the automation objects.