Visual Basic Concepts

Object Model Creation Guidelines

As discussed in "Organizing Objects: The Object Model," in "General Principles of Component Design," the hierarchy you use to organize the objects in your component can range in complexity from none at all — that is, only independent externally creatable objects with no dependent objects — to a large structure with many dependent objects.

This section offers guidelines for two aspects of designing object models for the components you build using Visual Basic:

• Guidelines for Creating Collection Classes   Summarizes the recommended collection class implementation guidelines, and provides references to additional discussion and examples.

• Guidelines for Creating Root Objects   A root object acts as the base of your component’s object model — as if it contains all the other objects. There are many ways to implement a root object, and many possible names.

For More Information   The Microsoft Press OLE 2 Programmer’s Reference contains in-depth information on standard objects, including additional component functionality you can gain by building your component with a tool such as Microsoft Visual C++.