Introduction

The term Component Object Model (COM) refers to an open architecture for cross-platform development of client/server applications based on object-oriented technology. COM is a way of creating reusable software components. Clients have access to an object through interfaces implemented on the object. In other words, objects are the communication medium between client and server. The Component Object Model provides a flexible way for building distributed object-oriented systems. COM objects are language-independent, can be shipped in binary form, can be upgraded without requiring changes to the existing integrated code, and can be transparently relocated on a network. Because of these qualities, COM objects are extremely flexible and can be adapted to add specific functionality to almost any Windows-based client-server system.

Note: The examples shown in this chapter are written in Visual Basic.

The Spectrum™ Technology Platform COM API consists of the following interfaces:

Server
Service
Message
DataTable
DataRow
Map