ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a very general overview of how communications are established so that, as engineers involved with systems. It considers how man has achieved the objective of man/machine dialogue and tries to see what the future holds. The difference between manufacturing automation protocol and technical office protocol is the method by which data is transmitted between the various linked devices, even though the communication path is the same–i.e., the broadband or baseband. Most commercial and business data are transferred to a computer on a batch basis, and, because there is usually a very large volume of information to input to the system, the data transfer is carried on at night. In commercial dealings “on-line status” is generally limited mainly to, for example, stocks trading, currency values, and the like; but, in manufacturing, most information must be direct on-line all of the time.
