I have several ATL COM services and would like each of them to have their own namespace, but be under a single base namespace, just like the System namespace in .NET.
For example if a C# project were to include these COM objects, all would be under the same base namespace:
using MyCompanyName.Terminator;
using MyCompanyName.Superman;
using MyCompanyName.Thor;
... instead, what I have currently is this:
using Terminator;
using Superman;
using Thor;
... which is what I do NOT want. I want to be able have a base namespace and sub-namespaces under that base. I don't know how to do this when creating an ATL service and what I need to modify to do this. Is it something I modify in the IDL file?
In case you are targeting managed clients it is possible to provide namespaces for them! However since COM is language independent you cannot provide namespaces using the interface description (type library). But whenever you are creating managed wrapper assemblies (that are actually referenced by the client), they can have namespaces to address the RCW objects. The keyword you are looking for is Primary Interop Assemblies. Those are assemblies that you as the vendor of the original library provide for clients to reference. To simplify this: You are doing the work, Visual Studio does for you when you are adding a reference to a COM library. You are creating the interop assembly and the customer does not reference the type library, but the assembly you generated. Using the tlbimp.exe tool it is possible to encapsulate the RCW types inside a namespace using the /namespace parameter.
Related
Is there a smart way to scaffold a COM callable .NET class library from an existing native COM DLL?
Scenario
Suppose you have a COM based C++ Win32 application and you want to replace one of the COM DLLs with something written from scratch.
Constraints
The new library shall be written in C#, targeting the .NET Framework (4.x)
No modifications to the rest of the existing unmanaged application shall be required.
No recompilation of the unmanaged code shall be required.
What I already know
You can create .NET assemblies which are COM callable.
You can import the type library IDL from an existing COM DLL.
Based on this question, what I want should be possible, even if arduous.
Question
Is there a smart / efficient way to generate the scaffolding code for a COM callable .NET class library with the exact same signature as an existing unmanaged COM DLL so I can replace the DLLs?
There does not need to be any implementation at first, every method could just throw a NotImplementedException for example.
Has anybody tried to use C++/winrt to create Win32 COM objects? The C++/winrt docs document that consuming them is possible and of course creating "new" UWP COM objects. I was wondering if for some simple scenario's one could use the C++/winrt headers instead of ATL to generate some simple COM objects.
You can write a COM component with C++/WinRT. Here’s an example of a COM executable server but the principles and techniques are much the same for a DLL.
https://gist.github.com/kennykerr/d983767262118ae0366ef1ec282e428a
For a DLL you just want to make sure you export an implementation of DllGetClassObject and DllCanUnloadNow. Otherwise, its just like any other DLL and you can use the winrt::implements class template to implement the various classes and factories.
Good day,
I have used dll imports for "user32.dll" in the past.
However, I am trying to import a class library into my application which has some namespaces which come into conflict with namespaces which are already imported and referenced from other class libraries.
How can I reference this dll and only use the namespaces contained in it, or override the other namespaces imported from other class libraries in one class without it affecting the rest of the application.
I am still pretty new, this may not be possible.
Thank you.
To summarize the relevant issues:
In VB.NET one can use the Declare statement to call win32 functions in DLL's with typical EntryPoint constructs.
.NET Assemblies do not provide classical Win32 type EntryPoints (as such they cannot be 'declared')
If one needs to reference a .NET Assembly [or COM] you need to add a reference to the target library when compiling (usually done in the VS IDE or with the /r: switch)
In some cases Namespaces of such referenced Assemblies may collide with others. (i.E. referencing the same Assembly in different versions)
In that case one needs to import the required (conflicting) Namespaces with an Alias
For example:
Assuming you have an assembly with a root namespace Net that could collide with System.Net use:
Imports System
Imports ExtNet = SomeNetworkAssembly
Then in this case to access members of that assembly use ExtNet instead of Net
Note you can name the ExtNet part as you wish.
In C# one can do it via the using keyword instead.
Can anyone tell me how to make a data contract assembly?
Create a class library project in your Visual Studio solution
add the classes that contain the data contracts to that project
compile everything
reference that assembly from your service code and your client-side code
Such an assembly is just a regular class-library assembly - there's nothing magic or mysterious about it....
Use svcutil
svcutil /dataContractOnly {Service_Metadata_Location}
Add the generated code to a Library and compile
Suppose you have to generate code for Client Proxies which use the above DataContracts, use the /reference:{Assembly_Path} option of svcutil to reuse the types from the assembly.
I have Excel add-in which I add so many class modules that it is now very bulky. I want to convert it into a type library or a COM package so that I can re-use it for the other apps in the MS Office suite.
I ported the add-in to Visual Studio as a class library project but Excel Automation doesn't recognize the classes in the compiled .dll file. Intuitively I think I would need a manifest, an interface or the something like that in my code.
What do I need to know in order to expose a class's methods and properties for use in OLE Automation?
I am assuming since you used the phrase manifest, you are assembling this DLL using a .net development platform VS2003, VS2005 or VS2008 as compared to a VS 6.0
This link provides a detailed set of steps required to register a .NET assembly for use as COM component.
The one thing the article doesn't mention that I routinely do is create my own GUIDs. Use the Create GUID item in the Tools menu then insert them above the classes, interfaces, and enums you want exposed for COM.
[Guid("3838ADC1-E901-4003-BD0C-A889A7CF25A1")]
public interface IMyCOMClass {
void MyMethod();
}
[Guid("476BDEB6-B933-4ed5-8B86-7D9330A59356"),
ClassInterface(ClassInterfaceType.None)]
public class MyCOMClass : IMyCOMClass {
public void MyMethod() {
//implementation here
}
}
The second thing I do is use a separate interface for the COM portion that is implemented by the class. The reasoning for doing this has to do with the breakability of COM when the interface changes, think DLL Hell.
Hope this helps,
Bill.
(Assuming it's a .NET project)
Besides having to add the Guids to your interfaces and classes, you also need to mark them with the ComVisible attribute (unless you've marked the whole assembly with it). Also, you need to use the tlbexp.exe to export the metadata as a COM typelibrary for referencing in unmanaged clients.