System-ready behaviors for integration

A generic eel of behaviors is described for devices so that they can be reliably and readily used as subsystems in an automated systems environment. The automated systems discussed here are constructed of multiple functional subsystems, arrayed hierarchically under a system supervisor. Such systems are typical of those popularly deployed in the chemical laboratory. These systems have had mixed success in the analytical chemistry arena, largely because they are difficult to construct-integrate-and because it is difficult to engineer them to operate reliably. The behaviors described in this article are intended to make devices more simple to integrate as subsystems into a system and to ensure they will operate reliably in that role. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.