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Automation and COM Servers

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You can extend the functionality of your Visual FoxPro applications without a lot of extra coding time by using Automation and COM Servers. With Automation, you can control other applications, such as Microsoft Excel, from within your own application. COM servers allow you to package complex routines into reusable components.

In This Section

  • The Control of Visual FoxPro from Other Applications
    Because Visual FoxPro acts as a server (with level 2 compliance) as well as a client, applications that support Automation can create instances of Visual FoxPro, run Visual FoxPro commands, and access Visual FoxPro objects.
  • Creating Automation Servers
    An Automation server is a COM component application that exposes functionality that can be used and reused by other applications through Automation.
  • Using Remote Automation
    When you create local servers for Automation, you can deploy them remotely. Remote Automation allows you the same flexibility, extensibility, and power of local Automation, but over a network.
  • Visual FoxPro Run-Time Libraries
    Visual FoxPro ships with two separate run-time libraries, one for most normal application types and one for highly scalable in-process server applications.
  • Server Design Considerations and Limitations
    There are certain behaviors, processes, and limitations that can determine the effectiveness of your server application.
  • Extending Applications
    To extend a basic Microsoft Visual FoxPro application, you can enable it to work for multiple users, take advantage of Microsoft ActiveX controls and automation-enabled applications, and add international capabilities.
  • Web Services Overview
    Visual FoxPro makes it possible for you to use web services with your applications. A web service is a class (object), deployed somewhere on the Internet, that you can access programmatically through normal object-oriented calls.
  • OLE DB Provider for Visual FoxPro
    The Visual FoxPro OLE DB Provider makes it possible for application developers to access Visual FoxPro data from other languages and applications, as well as from Visual FoxPro when appropriate.
  • Database Container Events
    You can enable DBC events and add code to specific events on data contained in a database.
  • Interoperability and the Internet
    Use OLE drag-and-drop to develop applications that make it possible for you to move data between Microsoft Windows -based applications and within a Visual FoxPro application. Create documents for use on the Internet, or use one of two different Visual FoxPro run-times to create COM components (Automation servers) as normal or multithreaded applications.
  • Programming for Shared Access
    If your application runs on a network or contains forms that access the same data, the application must share that data efficiently to provide maximum productivity.
  • Developing International Applications
    Learn how to move your applications into the world market by designing them for effective international use.