ActiveX

ActiveX is the name Microsoft has given to a set of "strategic" object-oriented programming technologies and tools. The main technology is the Component Object Model (COM). Used in a network with a directory and additional support, COM becomes the Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM). The main thing that you create when writing a program to run in the ActiveX environment is a component, a self-sufficient program that can be run anywhere in your ActiveX network (currently a network consisting of Windows and Macintosh systems). This component is known as an ActiveX control. ActiveX is Microsoft's answer to the Java technology from Sun Microsystems. An ActiveX control is roughly equivalent to a Java applet.

If you have a Windows operating system on your personal computer, you may notice a number of Windows files with the "OCX" file name suffix. OCX stands for "Object Linking and Embedding control." Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) was Microsoft's program technology for supporting compound documents such as the Windows desktop. The Component Object Model now takes in OLE as part of a larger concept. Microsoft now uses the term "ActiveX control" instead of "OCX" for the component object.

One of the main advantages of a component is that it can be re-used by many applications (referred to as component containers). A COM component object (ActiveX control) can be created using one of several languages or development tools, including C++ and Visual Basic, or PowerBuilder, or with scripting tools such as VBScript.

Currently, ActiveX controls run in Windows 95/98/NT/2000 and in Macintosh. Microsoft plans to support ActiveX controls for Unix.

Read more about ActiveX: - Microsoft's TechNet provides answers about ActiveX controls for the IT professional. - You can download a number of freeware or shareware ActiveX controls from download.com's ActiveX page . - Microsoft provides a detailed example of how to build a distributed application using ActiveX and DCOM . - Brien M. Posey reports on ActiveX security improvements in IE 8. - SearchVB.com, a portal for Visual Basic developers, includes a collection of links about ActiveX. - SearchWin2000.com has a collection of Internet links related to ActiveX.

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