Intel® Fortran Compiler 17.0 Developer Guide and Reference

Advantages of a COM Server (Windows*)

This topic only applies to Windows* operating systems.

A COM server consists of the implementation of one or more object classes. An object class is a type that describes the complete public calling interface ("signature") of an object. It describes the functionality that you want to make available to the users of the object. The COM server creates instances of the class, called objects, at the request of clients.

Some of the advantages of implementing your Fortran code as a COM server include:

Intel Fortran provides the Fortran COM Server application wizard and special editor for modifying the COM Server structure and generating Fortran code necessary to implement a COM server. This allows you to concentrate on the code that is specific to the functionality that your server provides to its clients.

As explained in Understanding COM and Automation Objects, COM supports two types of servers: COM servers and Automation servers. The Fortran COM Server Wizard can only create a COM server or a server that supports dual interfaces. The wizard cannot create an Automation-only interface.

For more information about creating COM servers, see Creating the Fortran COM Server.