.May 1996
The Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) is a protocol that enables software components to communicate directly over a network in a reliable, secure, and efficient manner. Previously called "Network OLE," DCOM is designed for use across multiple network transports, including Internet protocols such as HTTP. DCOM is based on the Open Software Foundation's DCE-RPC spec and will work with both Java™ applets and ActiveX™ components through its use of the Component Object Model (COM). For example, a developer could use Java to build a Web browser applet that calculates the value of a portfolio of securities, using DCOM to communicate stock values to the applet in real time over the Internet.
DCOM was developed by Microsoft Corporation and is currently in beta testing with the Microsoft® Windows NT® 4. 0 operating system. Microsoft plans to ship versions of DCOM later this year for the Windows NT and the Windows® 95 operating systems, and will begin a beta test of a Macintosh® version of DCOM later this year.
Software AG and Digital Equipment Corporation are porting DCOM to other operating systems, including multiple implementations of UNIX®. The Object Management Group is working on a specification for DCOM applications to communicate directly with CORBA-compliant object request brokers.
The DCOM binary protocol description is now available as an Internet Draft on http://ds1.internic.net/internet-drafts/draft-brown-dcom-v1-spec-00.txt.
For more information on COM, see the latest version of the COM spec on this site, and visit the
OLE Development site
for additional information.
If you have questions about DCOM or would like to exchange ideas with other developers, subscribe to the DCOM mailing list (DCOM@lists.msn.com). See the Mailing Lists page for instructions on how to subscribe.