Effective COM: 50 Ways to Improve Your COM and MTS-based Applications (Addison-Wesley Object Technology Series)

Effective COM opens with a chapter devoted to the migration from C++ to COM programming, presenting five "attitude shifts" that C++ coders need to undergo to program successfully with COM. It starts with a discussion of defining interfaces in the Interface Definition Language (IDL), and then moves on to a discussion of the unique distribution challenges of COM-based systems. The authors also discuss other differences, such as exception calls.

The next chapter presents tips pertaining to the all-important interfaces in COM. Both the big picture and some precise details are covered to help you implement your interfaces safely, as well as the implementations and the particular challenges that COM presents. The authors emphasize "defensive coding"--pointing out dangerous assumptions and offering suggestions for producing reliable components.

Apartments, security, and transaction management are addressed in succeeding chapters. As with the previous topics, they are handled via a series of specific tips and suggestions. If you're new to COM programming, you should read some more introductory texts first, but if you've already experienced your baptism by fire into the subject, this title can help ease future pain. --Stephen Plain