The Essence of COM and ActiveX: A Programmers Workbook (2nd Edition) [Paperback]

David S. Platt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 9, 1997

More and more Windows programmers need an in-depth understanding of ActiveX and COM, the fundamental Windows technologies for Internet, intranet and distributed systems development. This convenient workbook makes COM and ActiveX easy to understand, and comfortable to use. Walk step-by-step through COM and ActiveX fundamentals and programming techniques. Learn how to source data objects; use Automation (formerly OLE Automation); work with type libraries, and work with ActiveX controls and containers. Next, learn about structured storage, monikers, custom interfaces, and how to use threading with COM. Understand the fundamentals of DCOM, Microsoft's distributed object solution for advanced client/server development. The book contains a full chapter on the relationship of COM to Java, including how to write COM clients and servers in Java. Finally, discover what you need to know to deploy ActiveX controls on the Internet. The accompanying CD-ROM contains over 10 MB of working sample code you can cut and paste into applications.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The easy self-study guide to COM and ActiveX!

First edition published as: The Essence of OLE with ActiveX

"The Essence of OLE puts a training workshop in your hands, allowing you to explore and experiment with OLE and ActiveX in the context of modern development tools. David Platt teaches you to swim in the shallow end of the pool while always encouraging you to challenge yourself in deeper waters." -Kraig Brockschmidt, author of Inside OLE

"David Platt does for COM what Cliff Notes does for War and Peace. This book has the highest signal-to-noise ratio of any on the topic." -Jeff Prosise, author of Programming Windows with MFC

"This book really covers the essentials of COM programming in a succinct and easy-to-read style. I used what I learned in the marshaling section when creating the OLEACC.DLL that ships with Windows NT 5.0". -Jeffrey Richter, author of Advanced Windows

If you develop for Windows environments, you need an in-depth understanding of COM and ActiveX. With this convenient workbook, you'll learn COM and ActiveX in easy-to-digest, "bite-size" chunks. Through David Platt's masterfully-explained examples, you'll discover an internal elegance, clarity and consistency in COM and ActiveX that you never knew existed!

* Using Data Objects • Sourcing Data Objects • OLE Automation
* Type Libraries • ActiveX Controls • ActiveX Control Containers
* Structured Storage and Persistent Objects • Monikers • Custom Interfaces
* Distributed COM (DCOM) • ActiveX Controls on the Internet • ActiveX Scripting
* Threads and COM • Active Template Library • JAVA and COM
* Shell Extensions and COM • Self-Registering Programs • ANSI/Unicode • Containment & Aggregation • Smart Pointers

Jumpstart your own applications with more than 16 MB of working COM, ActiveX and OLE sample code on CD-ROM! Just cut-and-paste directly into your own applications!

About the Author

DAVID S. PLATT is President of Rolling Thunder Computing, and an instructor at Harvard University Extension School. He resides in Ipswich, MA.

Product Details

• Paperback: 592 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR; 2nd edition (December 9, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130799890
• ISBN-13: 978-0130799890
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6.1 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,009,848 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my 2 favorite books, April 7, 2000

By 

Steve Danielson - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Essence of COM and ActiveX: A Programmers Workbook (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

I got the 1st edition of this book when it came out, and will get the next edition when it comes out. The book is exactly what it claims to be; I see some negative remarks in previous reviews saying that this book is a workbook and that other books have more detail. They may have more details (debateble), but don't cut right to the bone with critical info like this book does. The info per page ratio is very high. This book is not for the windows or c/c++ beginner, but is for the COM beginner. (FYI to a previous review, COM/ActiveX are essentially the same thing, OLE is based upon these, and the book doesn't cover any "OLE" technology like linking, embedding etc... and clearly states so at the beginning)

This is a good solid book for a person wishing to teach themselves COM from the basics up using practical examples.

As an aside, I was the lead developer for a successful commercial MFC/C++ class library that used COM, and this book was essential to the development of those parts of the project. Interestingly enough, some competitors of this product had certain bugs; the solution to which was in this book!

Final thoughts: This is one of my favorite books along with Programming Windows with MFC by Jeff Prosise (had to give it a plug!)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect antidote to Brockschmidt, August 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Essence of COM and ActiveX: A Programmers Workbook (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

If you need to learn ActiveX programming in a short time then Kraig Brockschmidt's overly verbose book won't help you. This book is the exact opposite of Brockschmidt. It will get you started quickly if you are an experienced programmer.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good hands-on examples of writing ActiveX (OLE) components, July 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Essence of COM and ActiveX: A Programmers Workbook (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

This book gives provides good hands-on examples of writing ActiveX (OLE) controls. It focuses on OLE, covering COM from the OLE perspective. Lots of examples with good explanations. Platt offers some refreshingly practical information about ActiveX control development. He seems to have lots of real-world experience with the technology. The organization of the book is somewhat quirky. It is built around the example code.