Resources

This area is dedicated to providing a place for you to learn about object oriented software technologies such as COM, DCOM, Visual Studio .NET Components and ActiveX.

 

Articles

• ActiveX Controls - What are they ?
• ActiveX and OCX - What is the difference ?
• DDE - What is it ?
• ActiveX vs. DDE - What is the difference ?
• VBX, OCX, ActiveX ? - What is the difference ?
• Unravelling the Mystery of Visual Basic and ActiveX

 

Presentations

• An Overview of ActiveX from Microsoft (100 Kb zipped Powerpoint 97 Presentation) - This presentation provides an introduction to ActiveX, and explains its relationship with COM and other Microsoft technologies.
• "Building Your Human Machine Interface (HMI) using Visual Basic Technologies" - This 1999 IMS Show presentation by Software Toolbox founder John Weber includes an introduction to object terminology that is oriented towards the automation and control systems professional.

Download Paper (PDF) | Download Powerpoint Presentation (zip file)

• Microsoft COM (zipped, 233 KB) This presentation gives an overview of COM and its features. Also included are some quotes from the press showing that COM is preferred over CORBA and IIOP.

 

Web Site Resources

• Microsoft's COM Resource Center Site

 

Books

• Chappell, David. Understanding ActiveX and OLE. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Press, 1996. ISBN 1-572-31216-5. This book answered a lot of questions for us about ActiveX and OLE, including many of the "I wonder why that works that way?" type of questions. We found this book to have good technical depth without requiring you to be a C++ guru to understand it.
• VB COM - another excellent overview of COM, written from the perspective and point of reference of someone who already knows VB.