Learning DCOM

• Authors: Thuan L. Thai;Nancy Priest;Andy Oram
• Venue: Learning DCOM
• Year: 1999

From the Publisher:DCOM -- the Distributed Component Object Model -- is a recentupgrade of a time-honored and well-tested technology promoted byMicrosoft for distributed object programming. Now that componentsare playing a larger and larger part in Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0,and Windows 2000, every Windows programmer will want to understandthe technology. DCOM competes with CORBA as a rich and robust methodfor creating expandable and flexible components, allowing you toplug in new parts conveniently and upgrade without the need for codechanges to every program that uses your component.This book introduces C++ programmers to DCOM and gives them the basic toolsthey need to write secure, maintainable programs. While using Visual C++development tools and wizards where appropriate, the author never leavesthe results up to magic. The C++ code used to create distributedcomponents and the communications exchanged between systems and objectsare described at a level where the reader understands their significanceand can use the insights for such tasks as debugging and improving performance.The first few chapters explain both the remote procedure calls thatunderlie DCOM's communication and the way DCOM uses C++ classes.Readers become firmly grounded in the relation between components,classes, and objects, the ways objects are created and destroyed, howclients find servers, and the basics of security and threading.After giving you a grounding in how DCOM works, this book introduces you to the Microsoft tools that make it all easy. By showing what really happens each time you choose a button in a wizard, Learning DCOM makes itpossible for you to choose what you need.This book is for anyone who wants to understand DCOM. While thoroughlypractical in its goals, it doesn't stint on the background you needto make your programs safe, efficient, and easy to maintain.Topics include:MIDL (Microsoft Interface Definition Language, the languagefor defining COM interfaces)COM error and exception handlingCustom, dispatch, and dual interfacesStandard and custom factoriesManagement of in-process versus out-of-process serversDistributed memory managementPragmatic explanation of the DCOM wire protocolStandard, custom, handler, and automation marshaling Multithreading and apartmentsSecurity at the system configuration and programming levelActive Template Library (ATL), ATL wizards -- and what they don't doWriting a component that can be invoked from Visual BasicTechniques for using distributed componentsCreating an ActiveX control and embedding it in a Web clientAuthentication and the use of Windows NT security featuresTechniques for merging marshaling codeConnection and distributed events managementAn introduction to COM+ features