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Training Course Summary:

This hands on COM/DCOM training course introduces the student to the fundamental concepts of building reusable software components and applications using COM and DCOM. Students initially build server components and client applications using low-level COM techniques in order to thoroughly understand the principles involved. Subsequently they learn to employ ATL and MFC to build more sophisticated programs. Topics covered in detail include: creating COM components using ATL and deploying them in client applications; building automation-based server applications that provide components to other applications; creating and using ActiveX controls; and component support for multithreading. Students are then introduced to the problems of distributing components across a network. The fundamentals of DCOM and mechanisms for dealing with the security issues of distributed components are introduced.

Pre-Requisites:

Knowledge of C++. Basic knowledge of Windows. Minimal experience with MFC is helpful but not required.

Training Course Overview/Content:

Overview of Component Development
What is a Component?
COM/DCOM Architecture
Interfaces, GUIDs and the Registry
Location Transparency
IDL/MIDL
Class Factories
Marshaling
Automation
Multithreaded Servers
COM Threads
Implementing Apartment Threading
Implementing Free Threading

Programming with COM
HRESULTs
Initializing COM
Implementing COM Servers
Interfaces
IUNKNOWN
Common Microsoft Interfaces
Custom Interfaces
Dual Interfaces
Generating GUIDS
Self-Registering Components
Class Factories
Memory Management
Implementing COM Clients
CoCreateInstance
CoGetClassObject
Managing interface Pointers
Handling Errors
Component Reuse
Containment & Aggregation
Building and Using ActiveX Controls
ActiveX Control Fundamental Concepts
Using ActiveX Controls
Installing and Registering
Building Dialogs Containing ActiveX Controls
Using ActiveX Controls in a Web Page
ActiveX Control Architecture
Properties
Custom Properties
Ambient Properties
Stock Properties
Property Persistence
Events
Tools for Bbuilding & Testing ActiveX Controls
Building ActiveX Controls
Using ATLs Wizard

Using MFC to build COM Clients and Servers
MFC Overview
COM Support using AppWizard
CCmdTraget
INTERFACE Map
Adding Data Members and Methods
Using Nested Classes
Using Automation
Automation Concepts
IDISPATCH
Automation Data Types
Type Libraries
Dual Interfaces
C++, VB and Java Automation Issues
Handling Automation Errors
Implementing Automation Servers
Using ATL

Using ATL to create COM Clients and Servers
ATL Overview
CComObjectRootEx and CComObject
COM Support using the ATL COM AppWizard
Using the ATL Object Wizard
Adding Data Members and Methods
COM and OBJECT Maps
Interacting with the Type Library
Smart Pointers
Programming with DCOM
DCOM Fundamentals
RPC
Object Lifetimes
Registry Entries
Surrogates
Review of IDL / MIDL
Security
Building a DCOM Server
Building a DCOM Client
Testing on a Local Machine