Distributed Component Object Model
33 out of 43 rated this helpful - Rate this topic
In addition to supporting component object model (COM) for interprocess communication on a local computer, Windows 2000 supports the distributed component object model (DCOM). DCOM is a system of software objects designed to be reusable and replaceable. Objects are software components that can perform and support applications. The objects support sets of related functions such as sorting, random-number generation, and database searches. Each set of functions is called an interface, and each DCOM object can have multiple interfaces. When applications access an object, they receive an indirect pointer to the interface functions. The pointer has information on the location of an object. After receiving this pointer, the calling application doesn't need to know where the object is or how it does its job since the pointer directs the calling application to it.
DCOM allows processes to be efficiently distributed to multiple computers so that the client and server components of an application can be placed in optimal locations on the network. Processing occurs transparently to the user because DCOM handles this function. Thus, the user can access and share information without needing to know where the application components are located. If the client and server components of an application are located on the same computer, DCOM can be used to transfer information between processes. DCOM is platform independent and supports any 32-bit application that is DCOM-aware.