A process control system is configured via manipulation of objects that
model system components, e.g., sensors, blocks, control processors,
historians, workstations, etc. Individual objects include parameters that
characterize the underlying components and/or the behavior of the objects
themselves. These parameters are derived from the "parents," from which
the objects are created. Derived characteristics need not be defined
explicitly but, rather, are defined implicitly or by reference. These
derived characteristics may be overridden for an individual object and,
thereby, its progeny. Although objects have class-like characteristics
(i.e., insofar as they are definitional in nature), they can be created
at configuration time, without the need for recompilation.