The PowerBASIC COM Browser

The PowerBASIC COM Browser is an application that exposes the Interfaces, Methods, and Properties of COM Objects, as described by type-library files. The PowerBASIC COM Browser serves a dual purpose - to export an Interface Structure of a COM Object for early-binding purposes in your PowerBASIC code, and to provide syntax reference and context-help on the Interface members exposed by a COM Object.

If you are unfamiliar with COM Automation programming, you may wish to review the COM Programming chapter to gain an insight into COM programming concepts before reading this topic.

The PowerBASIC COM Browser can be launched from the Tools menu in the PowerBASIC IDE, launched as a stand-alone application by double-clicking PBROW.EXE in the \PB\BIN\ folder, or run from the command-line by typing PBROW.EXE (and then press ENTER).

When launched, the PowerBASIC COM Browser offers a straightforward user interface, with which you open specific type-library files or choose from a list of registered libraries.

Before we start, we should first clarify a few terms to avoid confusion:

COM Object	An instance of an initialized COM library or application. COM Objects usually come in EXE (out-of-process), and DLL, or OCX formats (in-process). These discussions pertain to COM libraries that act as COM Servers, regardless of whether they are in-process or out-of-process Servers.
type-library	A type-library is a file that contains a database or data dictionary describing the Interfaces and Interface members exposed by a COM Object.