The Component Object Model (COM) allows an object to expose its functionality to other components and to host applications. Most of today's software includes COM objects. Although .NET assemblies are the best choice for new applications, you may at times need to employ COM objects. This section covers some of the issues associated with creating and using COM objects with Visual Basic .NET.
In This Section
- Introduction to COM Interop
- Provides an overview of COM interoperability.
- Referencing COM Objects from Visual Basic .NET
- Covers how to add references to COM objects that have type libraries.
- Working With ActiveX Controls
- Demonstrates how to use existing ActiveX controls to add features to the Visual Studio .NET toolbox.
- Walkthrough: Creating COM Objects with Visual Basic .NET
- Steps you through the process of creating COM objects with and without the COM class template.
- Troubleshooting Interoperability
- Covers some of the problems you may encounter when interoperating with COM.
Related Sections
- Walkthrough: Implementing Inheritance with COM Objects
- Demonstrates how to use classes in COM objects as the basis for inheritance in Visual Basic .NET.
- Interoperating with Unmanaged Code
- Describes interoperability services provided by the common language runtime.
- Exposing COM Components to the .NET Framework
- Describes the process of calling COM types through COM interop.
- Exposing .NET Framework Components to COM
- Describes the preparation and use of managed types from COM.
- Applying Interop Attributes
- Covers attributes you can use when interoperating with unmanaged code.