scripting/automation in .NET?

Hello,

I have two questions about automation support in .NET, motivated by a project we are undertaking.

We are planning to add scripting support for our application, which controls scientific equipment and analyzes the resulting data. Our app is COM-based, implemented as in-proc servers written mostly in VC++, with the UI code mostly in C#. We are leaning toward a solution based on Microsoft's automation recommendations, exposing a set of ActiveX objects that implement a programming model of our application. This would immediately enable our clients to use VBScript/JScript and the WSH to write and execute scripts that automate our application.

Although we are slowly migrating toward C# and away from C++, to create the automation server that would provide access to our Application object (the root of our model), we will use VC++, because there does not seem to be a way to implement an out-of-process COM server in C#. (Although one can implement COM-callable objects in a C# .EXE, they are loaded in-process. We want to put our server in the ROT, so that calls to GetObject will return the single instance.)

So, my first question is: does anyone know if Microsoft plans to add a way to implement a COM out-of-process server in C#

My second question is: does anyone know if Microsoft plans to implement an automation/scripting solution based on .NET objects, as opposed to COM/ActiveX

Thanks in advance,

Phil Coveney

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scripting/automation in .NET?

XP is self aware

this is what remoting is.
John Dieter
Not sure, but in response to the last question, I thought they were posting JScript.NET to fill this position.
V VICTOR
Phil:

In response to your first question about being able to create out-of-process servers in C#, I found a couple links you might be interested in. Both point to the idea of using COM+ Enterprise Services as a work around in VC# .NET to using out-of-process servers found in unmanaged code. These COM+ components are derived from System.EnterpriseServices.ServicedComponents.

COM+ (a.k.a. MTS) components are created in DLLs. However, they run under the wing of a DLLHOST.exe that you create with a custom name. A host supports one or more DLLs. I suppose in your case you could create a new host for each DLL / COM Server component. This will give you the same affect as an out-of-process (outproc) server.

I found the following supporting links:

[Google - "Creating Out of Process COM Server C#"]

create a COM+ component - it was "Re: EXE COM Server Possible in C# "
http://www.dotnet247.com/247reference/msgs/39/195717.aspx

COM+ and the .NET Framework
Building a complete COM+ Server component using C# and .NET
Gopalan Suresh Raj
http://my.execpc.com/~gopalan/dotnet/complus/complus.net_accountmanager.html

[/Google - "Creating Out of Process COM Server C#"]

James M. Sigler, II
Dallas, TX
jmsigler2@hotmail.com

P.S. You might ask the OLE/COM/DCOM/ActiveX/.NET Remoting Team, part of the Distributed Services Group at Microsoft for COMINFO.EXE. This helps a lot in getting a snapshot of information related to the successful registration of your COM components.
scripting/automation in .NET?

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