In order to analyze the function demand of the distributed manufacturing information system as well as its control demand, and eliminate information ambiguity among system units to integrate semantics, the abstract Agent model and computational structure of each unit was presented based on flexible coupling automata. The autonomy of each unit was investigated in this foundation. The system unit was described using the Web Ontology Language (OWL) ontology. And the system semantics was also integrated. On these basics the communication among the system units was analyzed with an example of interaction between a machine and a warehouse. The control performances of information system units were investigated using Boolean matrix as a substitute for traditional process in RW theory, which reduced the computational complexity. This work established the foundation for the demand analysis, design and development of the distributed manufacture information system.
