Distributing Controls
As
discussed in "Two Ways to Package ActiveX Controls," earlier in this
chapter, Visual Basic lets you author shareable control components (.ocx
files), or simply include private controls as .ctl files in the project
for your application or component.
This topic and its related topics focus on distribution, versioning, and
licensing issues for control components. Private controls are compiled
directly into an executable or component, and are distributed along with
it. Being private, they also have no versioning or licensing issues. www.tartoos.com
Distributing Control Components
When you distribute a control component, you're providing a tool other
developers can use in their applications. Versioning issues address the
question of how you update that tool without breaking your customers'
code.
Because you're providing a tool, instead of a finished application, you
have licensing issues to consider. You have to decide whether to include
licensing support for your control. If you plan on building your controls
using licensed controls from other authors, you need to consider how that
affects your distribution plans.
Because the tool you're creating is an-process component ("ocx" is really
just another way to spell DLL), you have to select a base address that
will minimize memory conflicts, and thus avoid performance problems.
Finally, because the tool you're creating uses the Visual Basic run-time
DLL, and possibly other support files, you have to create a Setup program.
Setup is covered in the remainder of this topic. The important subject of
base addresses is discussed in "Setting Base Addresses for In-Process
Components" in "Debugging, Testing, and Deploying Components."
Licensing and versioning issues are covered in the following related
topics:
www.tartoos.com
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Licensing Issues for Controls Explains
how to add licensing to your control project, and discusses the
implications of using licensed controls as constituent controls.
-
Versioning Issues for Controls Explains
the four areas of compatibility you need to consider when you create a
new version of your control.
Important :
Be sure to set the description for each control in your control
component. Some clients, such as Visual Basic, represent the entire .ocx
file using the string you enter in the Project Description box of the
Project Properties dialog box, but others display the browser strings for
the individual controls. See "Providing Help and Browser Strings for
Objects," in "Debugging, Testing, and Deploying Components." www.tartoos.com
Creating Setup for ActiveX Control Components
ActiveX controls created with Visual Basic require the Visual Basic
run-time DLL. Depending on what constituent controls you use, you may
require additional support files. To ensure that you distribute all the
necessary support files, using SetupWizard is recommended.
For
the most part, using SetupWizard for control components is no different
from using it for any other component created using Visual Basic. This
subject is thoroughly covered in "Debugging, Testing, and Deploying
Components."
If
you plan to use your control component for Internet or intranet
development, you can obtain the most up-to-date information on setup
options from the Microsoft Visual Basic Web site.
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