Re: calling COM
<worlman385@yahoo.com> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:vav5u3t0l8h96ni9vcomsbn1lmujjdojo2@4ax.com...
Does COM objects are like Java Beans implemented in C++?
I'm sorry, but I don't know about Java Beans...
When we use a COM object first we load the COM object binary file,
then we call functions inside the COM object just like calling
standard library functions?
I don't understand that very well...
COM objects expose *interfaces* (whose names generally begin with an "I",
like IUnknown, ISomething, IVideoRenderer...).
COM programming is basically programming towards *interfaces*.
Interfaces are like immutable contracts: each interface expose a set of
public methods, that the client can call. The implementation of these
interface methods is done by the COM "object".
Each interface in COM derives from IUnknown, which basically provides
methods for object reference counting (AddRef/Release), and a method to
query other object's interfaces (QueryInterface).
From a C/C++ point of view, a COM interface is just a list of pointers to
functions (methods).
There are several interesting tutorials on the web on COM, you may find some
on CodeProject.
The only difference is COM can be called by VB or C# ... etc (so it's
some kind of generic library) ??
COM can be called via VB6 (very different from VB.NET).
It can be called also from the managed .NET platform (so: C#, VB.NET...),
using COM interop.
Of course, you can call COM from C++ and from C as well.
But calling COM from C is more complicated, because, for example, with C you
must explicitly refer to the lpVtbl pointer of an interface, and pass the
value of the "this" pointer,
e.g.:
ISomeInterface * pSomeInterface;
... initialize interface e.g. using QueryInterface...
// Call from C++
pSomeInterface->DoSomething( param1, param2 ... );
//
// Equivalent call from C
//
// note:
// 1) explicit lpVtbl
// 2) "this" pointer as first method parameter
//
pSomeInterface->lpVtbl->DoSomething(
pSomeInterface, // "this" pointer explicit in C, hidden in C++
param1, param2, ... );
For more details, you may find this article very interesting:
"COM in Plain C"
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/COM/com_in_c1.aspx
and a general introduction to COM:
"Introduction to COM - What It Is and How to Use It."
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/COM/comintro.aspx
Giovanni