🚀 go-pugleaf

Nils,

ActiveX controls have lots of plumbing inside to allow them to be used as
standard controls in dialog boxes (and other windows). You can just drop an
ActiveX control on dialog template in Vusual C++ (or VB). However, because
of that special plumbing, ActiveX controls aren't easily used from console
apps. In order to use ActiveX control, an app must act as ActiveX Container,
which involves implementing quite a few COM interfaces. You probably
wouldn't want to implement those "container" interfaces by hand: it's too
much work.
If you need an object without GUI, you could just create a COM Component. In
"New ATL Object" (I assume you use VC++ 6.0) you should choose "Simple
Object"; the add some interfaces to your object. COM component like the one
above can be easily created from console apps. You'll have to call:
CoCreateInstance() - to instantiate your component.
Basically, the (simplified) flow will be like this:

// Console app.
//
CoInitialize(NULL);

MyComInterface *pCI;

CoCreateInstance(..., (void**) &pCI);

// Use pCI
pCI->SomeMethod();

// Done with pCI
pCI->Release();

CoUninitialize();


Boris

"Nils" <Nils.King@Software.plc.uk> wrote in message
news:cdb31147.0310260913.670c875a@posting.google.com...
> Hi,
>
>
> Please could someone tell me where I am going wrong....
>
> I have a simple ActiveX object (MFC and have tried a ATL version) that
> has a simple public function that I wish to call from a console
> application (as a test and then from a .NET web page later on).
>
> When I add the COM object as a reference to the project the object
> browser does not show my function and obviously won't let me use it in
> the code, why is this?! - the ActiveX dll is compile and registered (I
> think, do you have to 'register' functions in a special way).
>
> Please someone put me out of my stupidity/missery.
>
> Many thanks,
>
> -Nils