1. An object-oriented control system comprising: clients for providing access to and control and monitoring of the object-oriented control system via an electronic network; foreign devices not directly controllable by using downloadable Java-based objects; stations for integrating said foreign devices into the object-oriented control system using a common object model, supervising other stations, and serving as master of the local system wherein a master provides persistent backup of all configuration information; and a flexible and open architecture capable of supporting a plurality of diverse configurations of said clients, foreign devices, and stations; a real-time synchronization manager to regulate the orderly and timely execution of multiple tasks; a plurality of user-defined objects; a plurality of object properties; a plurality of object categories; an object creation facility to allow user creation and modification of said objects and said properties according to a plurality of said object categories; a multi-level security facility; a plurality of pre-defined objects coexisting with said user-defined objects; a persistent and real-time information synchronization manager that maintains the integrity of system data throughout the object-oriented control system through the use of archiving and synchronization; a control engine for providing predictable order of execution of said objects; and a programmable mail service for sending email notifications containing real-time data to remote sites.