Microsoft COM is prevalent throughout Windows operating systems―95, 98, NT-and is rapidly becoming the programming framework of choice. To build applications which interface with Windows systems, programmers must understand and learn to use COM. This book includes coverage of DCOM, Microsoft¿s distributed architecture that is based on COM. It will also covers the latest developments in Delphi 5. This book will teach COM programming to Delphi 4 and 5 programmers. After providing an understanding of the COM framework, it offers a practical exploration of COM to enable Delphi developers to program component-based applications. Typical real-world scenarios, such as Windows Shell programming, automating Microsoft Agent, and creating and using ActiveX controls, will be explored. Discussion of each topic will be illustrated with detailed examples.
Eric Harmon is Director of Software Development at Advanced Estimating Systems, Inc.¿located in Delray Beach, Florida. Advanced Estimating Systems is the developer of The EDGE, the industry standard in construction estimating software. Eric is also a member of TPX (TurboPower eXperts), a volunteer group of programmers that assists the TurboPower Software Company in providing support for its newsgroups. Turbopower is one of the premier providers of tools coded in Delphi for Delphi programmers. Eric was recruited by TurboPower as the original member of TPX in 1997. Eric has been programming professionally in Turbo Pascal, Delphi, and Microsoft Visual C++ since 1983. He has also contributed Delphi and COM-related articles to Visual Developer Magazine. Eric can be reached at Eric.Harmon@tpx.turbopower.com.