COM Basics

First things first. Before we jump into the topic at hand, it's important that you understand the basic concepts and terminology associated with the technology. This section introduces you to basic ideas and terms behind the COM-based technologies.

COM: The Component Object Model

The Component Object Model (COM) forms the foundation upon which OLE and ActiveX technology is built. COM defines an API and a binary standard for communication between objects that's independent of any particular programming language or (in theory) platform. COM objects are similar to the VCL objects you're familiar with—except that they have only methods and properties associated with them, not data fields.

A COM object consists of one or more interfaces ...

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