Re: [IronPython] COM Late Binding in IronPython

[Davy Mitchell]

Thanks very much Shri - this is a really good explanation.

Particulary happy about wider DLR support as easier to sell the dynamic
approach if other languages a possibility. I could see members of my team
being cautious about using a 'off by default' feature in a beta of a strange
language (to some!). A feature 'Coming soon' for the entire DLR is much more
appealing though we would probably start with IronPython.

Regards,
Davy Mitchell

On Thu, Apr 10, 2008 at 11:16 PM, Shri Borde <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:

>  I am not sure what the exact question is. However, I have posted the
> following at
> http://blogs.msdn.com/shrib/archive/2008/04/10/ole-automation-idispatch-support-in-ironpython.aspxto
>  help understand what –X:PreferComDispatch does.
>
>
>
> *OLE automation (IDispatch) support in IronPython **[image:
> http://blogs.msdn.com/Themes/default/images/common/star-left-off.gif][image:
> http://blogs.msdn.com/Themes/default/images/common/star-right-off.gif][image:
> http://blogs.msdn.com/Themes/default/images/common/star-left-off.gif][image:
> http://blogs.msdn.com/Themes/default/images/common/star-right-off.gif][image:
> http://blogs.msdn.com/Themes/default/images/common/star-left-off.gif][image:
> http://blogs.msdn.com/Themes/default/images/common/star-right-off.gif][image:
> http://blogs.msdn.com/Themes/default/images/common/star-left-off.gif][image:
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> http://blogs.msdn.com/Themes/default/images/common/star-left-off.gif][image:
> http://blogs.msdn.com/Themes/default/images/common/star-right-off.gif]***
>
> IronPython 1.X supported COM interop by building on top of the COM 
> interop<http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/6bw51z5z%28VS.80%29.aspx>support
>  built into the CLR. This relies on the use of interop assemblies for
> managed code to access COM objects. The interop assembly can be accessed in
> different ways:
>
> 1.       clr.AddReference("interopAssembly") - This is the preferred
> mechanism so that the interop assembly does not have to be created multiple
> times. The down-side is that it complicates deployment. You have to 
> ensure<http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/697w37zd%28VS.80%29.aspx>that 
> the interop assembly exists on the machine.
>
> 2.       Having IronPython automatically generate it on the fly - if you
> have a OLE automation object, IronPython tries to find its type library
> (TLB) and then to convert the TLB to an interop assembly on the fly using
> the 
> TypeLibConverter<http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.runtime.interopservices.typelibconverter%28VS.80%29.aspx>class.
>  The advantage is that this works seamlessly as long as there is a
> type library on the machine. The down-side is that this conversion can take
> a long time for large TLB files.
>
> This is how Word could be accessed. It requires the interop assembly
> Microsoft.Office.Interop.Word.dll to be available on the machine.
>
> c:\>ipy.exe
> IronPython 2.0 Beta (2.0.0.1000) on .NET 2.0.50727.1433
> Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
> >>> import clr
> >>> clr.AddReference("Microsoft.Office.Interop.Word")
> >>> from Microsoft.Office.Interop.Word import ApplicationClass
> >>> word = ApplicationClass()
> >>> word.Visible = True
> >>> doc = word.Documents.Add()
> >>> doc.Range().Text = "Hello from IronPython"
> >>> word.Quit()
> >>>
>
> IronPython 2.0 has added support for interacting with OLE automation
> objects using the IDispatch interface. This completely eliminates the need
> for interop assemblies. This is the same mechanism that 
> VBA<http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/isv/bb190538.aspx>late-bound code and 
> also
> WSH <http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/9bbdkx3k.aspx> use to
> interact with OLE automation object. This feature can currently be accessed
> using the -X:PreferComDispatch command line option. Here is an interactive
> session showing access to Word. There are no interop assemblies in the
> picture.
>
> c:\>ipyd -X:PreferComDispatch
> IronPython 2.0 Beta (2.0.0.1000) on .NET 2.0.50727.1433
> Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
> >>> import clr
> >>> import System
> >>> wordTypeLibGuid = System.Guid("00020905-0000-0000-C000-000000000046")
> >>> clr.AddReferenceToTypeLibrary(wordTypeLibGuid)
> >>> from Word import Application
> >>> word = Application()
> >>> word.Visible = True
> >>> doc = word.Documents.Add()
> >>> doc.Range().Text = "Hello from IronPython"
> >>> word.Quit()
> >>>
>
> The feature is not complete yet, and so is not currently (April 08)
> enabled by default. I cant say for sure when we will enable it by default,
> but its already quite stable for many real-world uses. We run all of our COM
> tests in both modes - using interop assemblies and using IDispatch. There
> are a few differences between the two cases in the minute details, but the
> mainline scenarios work well in both. This feature is implemented in the
> DLR, and so should be accessible from all DLR-based languages with little
> effort.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Shri
>
> Want to work on IronPython, IronRuby, 
> F#?<http://blogs.msdn.com/ironpython/archive/2008/02/25/ironpython-ironruby-and-f-openings-in-dev-test-and-pm.aspx>
>  Visit
> http://blogs.msdn.com/ironpython
>
>
>
> *From:* [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] *On Behalf Of *Davy Mitchell
> *Sent:* Wednesday, April 09, 2008 1:31 PM
> *To:* Discussion of IronPython
> *Subject:* [IronPython] Late Binding in IronPython
>
>
>
> Hi List,
>
> It seems odd posting here with my work hat on but here goes... :-) !!
>
> I've been looking at using IronPython and COM to work with some COM
> objects with VB6 (Project Compatibility - a *TOTAL* nightmare for interop).
> In VB.net we get round this with CreateObject which works well though
> somewhat limit.
>
> Is –X:PreferComDispatch flag intended to be an equivalent for IronPython
> and any other DLR languages? VBX?
>
> Thanks,
> Davy Mitchell
>
> --
> Davy Mitchell
> Blog - http://www.latedecember.co.uk/sites/personal/davy/
> Twitter - http://twitter.com/daftspaniel
> Skype - daftspaniel http://needgod.com
>
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>


-- 
Davy Mitchell
Blog - http://www.latedecember.co.uk/sites/personal/davy/
Twitter - http://twitter.com/daftspaniel
Skype - daftspaniel http://needgod.com

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