ActiveXInterface Class

The ActiveXInterface class is the abstract class that provides a superclass for all ActiveX interfaces imported into Jade.

ActiveX objects are manipulated by their interfaces. An interface consists of a set of properties that you can set or get, and a set of methods that can be called. The caller of an ActiveX object needs to know the property types and method names and parameters to make use of these interfaces.

A set of interface classes is generated when you import an ActiveX control or automation type library object. These generated classes map to each of the interfaces defined for that ActiveX object. You then access the functionality of the ActiveX object through these interface classes, by using standard Jade language constructs.

Most ActiveX objects have many different interfaces. The most important of these interfaces is the IUnknown interface, which all COM objects implement and all other ActiveX interfaces inherit. Although the IUnknown class is the only interface that all objects must support, most objects also support the IDispatch interface.

You can create neither transient nor persistent instances of ActiveXInterface subclasses.

For details about the IUnknown subclass of the ActiveXInterface class, see "IUnknown Class", later in this chapter. The IUnknown class provides the IDispatch subclass, in which the interface classes of the imported ActiveX object are created. (For details, see "IDispatch Class", later in this chapter.)

See also "Using ActiveX Control and Automation Server Libraries", in Chapter 4 of the External Interface Developer's Reference.

Object

IUnknown