METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATED BI-DIRECTIONAL INTEGRATION OF PERIPHERAL DATA SOURCES FOR A PRODUCTION TOOL

摘要

A method and apparatus for automated bidirectional integration of peripheral data sources for a production tool couples the system components together in a web-based arrangement. The process tools and the peripheral data sources are configured as websites to provide information to the system. Certain components of the system are also configured as browsers to obtain available information and use this information to make decisions and perform actions.