Lifecycle COM-Komponenten C++

Question

Wir nutzen derzeit in unserer Software COM-Komponenten mit C++. Diese binden wird als Excel-Add-In ein. Die Technologie ist inzwischen veraltet. Somit besteht die Möglichkeit, dass Microsoft in naher Zukunft mit neuen Betriebssystemen/Office-Versionen diese veraltete Technologie nicht mehr unterstützten wird.

Kennt jemand offizielle Aussagen zur Verwendung von COM-Komponenten und wie lange diese von Microsoft unterstützt werden?

---

We currently use COM components with C++ in our software. We integrate these as Excel add-ins. The technology is now obsolete. So there is a possibility that Microsoft will no longer support this obsolete technology in the near future with new operating systems/Office versions.

Does anyone know official statements about the use of COM components and how long they will be supported by Microsoft?

Answer 1

COM isn't going anywhere in the foreseeable future. Window's extensibility is COM based as is other crucial areas including DirectX, Exchange, etc. While COM is not the preferred approach I wouldn't say it is obsolete as COM is an RPC mechanism and works fine. I'm not sure what a replacement technology would be. It couldn't be managed code (C#/VB) because, while popular, is not universal and cannot be used in all cases. Perhaps REST or gRPC but those technologies are for interprocess RPC and COM works both in and out of process.

If you're building Office addins then of course updating to the newer Office Addin model would be the best option. The Javascript APIs are becoming popular in Office but as many people have pointed out they are nowhere near ready to replace the existing Office API exposed via COM. But if you need to support Office on other platforms then the Javascript API looks to be where you need to go. But if you're using the new Office Addin templates then you should be good to go there.