Microsoft Makes Available New ActiveX Template Library for C++ Programmers
Microsoft Provides Developers C++ Templates
For Building Lightweight COM Objects for the Internetv
REDMOND, Wash. – April 29, 1996 – Microsoft Corp. announced today it is making the ActiveX
™Template Library (ATL) freely available to C++ developers on the World Wide Web. This new library was created to provide developers with a convenient mechanism for building lightweight and fast component object model (COM) objects. COM is the technical underpinning of all Microsoft®
ActiveX technologies.
Templates are a code-reuse feature of the C++ language that allow developers to define a specific software implementation without yet knowing the data types. In the ActiveX Templates, Microsoft has defined the specific software implementation for generating the smallest COM objects. Developers will define the types of data that are specific to their application. By exploiting the power of C++, the ATL templates provide a standard way of writing code for every combination of COM interface and data type in an ActiveX component.
According to Denis Gilbert, general manager of the visual languages business unit at Microsoft, ATL is a by-product of Microsoft’s full-court press to bring its technologies to the Internet.
“One of our developers came up with this idea of creating a C++ framework for fast and lightweight dual-interface COM objects,”
Gilbert said.
“This framework is now incredibly popular within Microsoft. Because COM, high performance and low overhead are synonymous with ActiveX, we wanted to get this technology into everyone’s hands as quickly as possible. The World Wide Web is a fantastic means of doing so.”
The ActiveX Template Library comes with a white paper describing the technology, a technical note describing its use, several samples and a wizard that can be used with the
Visual C++®
development system version 4.x for generating applications using the new templates. It is available free of charge from the Microsoft Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/devonly/
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Microsoft, ActiveX and Visual C++ are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
