COMPONENT OBJECT MODEL: AN OVERVIEW & PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION

The Component Object Model (COM) is a system technology that originated with Windows, but has begun to propagate to other platforms (the Macintosh, Compaq/Digital VMS, Compaq Digital Unix, Solaris, other Unix flavors, mainframes, etc.) as well. Its purposes for software developers are multi-fold. The paper presents an overview of COM technology and concentrates on its advantages, which have made it one of the most versatile and indispensable technologies of today. The paper also carries a short description of an example project created using Microsoft Visual C++ based on COM and OLE features. The project automates MICROSOFT EXCEL, creating a worksheet and chart based on the input provided by the user. This model is being used for data analysis, visualization and data storage of wide range of materials being used for structural, stealth and polymer in defence application.