COM is...

[Dorothy]

Am I right?

Speaking in VBterms

COM is>> Activex EXE+Activex DLL+ActiveX control+OLE+a li'l philosophy

[wen-sar]

COM is skeleton code thats all no more

Private Sub Blah()

End Sub

Thats COM now everybody calls the same code but fills it in with their stuff....

i know that sounds simplistic but hey it is ..

[Serge]

Straight from MSDN:

COM arose out of the need for an efficient method of interprocess communication. COM provides a group of conventions and supporting libraries that allow interaction between different pieces of software in a consistent, object-oriented way. COM objects can be written in many languages, including C++, Java, and Visual Basic, and they can be implemented in dynamic link libraries (DLLs) or in their own executables, running as distinct processes.

[wen-sar]

i do appreciate the importance of passing on the information on COM in as accurate a way as possible, however it is more important to me that people not become afraid of the complexity of the answer.so while my answer to the question lacked specific detail..i believe it did provide more clarity of understanding.
that someone follow an interminable thread to obtain an answer is less important than that they not lose sight of the question they want answered to begin with.



two excellent books that i refer to often are

Wrox VB COM by Thomas Lewis
Wrox VB Objects by Peter Wright

[Serge]

But I wouldn't put it as "A skeleton code"
COM is a technology that allows you to create a code in object oriented way.