--- product_id: 2731618 title: "Essential COM" brand: "don box" price: "£59.95" currency: GBP in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/2731618-essential-com store_origin: GB region: Great Britain --- # Essential COM **Brand:** don box **Price:** £59.95 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Essential COM by don box - **How much does it cost?** £59.95 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.uk](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/2731618-essential-com) ## Best For - don box enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted don box brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Essential COM ## Images ![Essential COM - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41DLZfUDZNL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Still essential *by T***A on Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2012* 14 years after publishing, Essential COM is still essential for everyone who wants to fully understand COM technology. .NET replaced COM in many areas, but still, there are many libraries based on COM. Even the latest technologies like Windows Runtime (Metro) or Media Foundation are COM-based APIs.As the book title indicates, Essential COM covers (all) essential parts of COM technology you should know when working with COM. The book is NOT introductory text. In fact, you have to have same basics of COM before reading this book. Some step by step tutorial, or even better Step-by-step book should be considered as prerequisite before reading Box's text.Box tries to explain not just technology itself, but he also presents philosophy that drove designers of COM to design COM as it was designed. The book doesn't contain whole listing of source codes, nor step-by-step examples (showing how to create COM servers - for instance). Instead, there are short snippets of code you can incorporate to your own COM clients or servers (the reason why you need to know how to create COM server from scratch). But if you have basics of COM, the book is the great tool that will extend your knowledge. Especially coverage of apartments (one of the hardest parts of COM) is great. Using this book I filled many gaps. The only thing I don't like are those 'animal' examples. Interfaces like IApe, IDog or IPug are not very intuitive.The last remark. The book is completely valid under Windows 7. I compiled samples (my own, not from companion source) under Visual Studio 2010 for x64 CPU, and there were only minor changes I had to do (ProxyStub DLL for standard marshaler is linked with other LIB and you have to set x64 flag for MIDL compiler).PS: The book doesn't contain explanation of COM support in ATL or MFC. Also #import directive is not covered here. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Start Here *by M***I on Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2014* If you want to learn COM, start here. If you have been using COM but never really learned it, like me, then start here to actually learn about COM. I had been doing so many things wrong. My coworkers had been doing many things wrong. And that is really embarrassing as we should know much better. So read this book. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Inciteful, as described. *by A***N on Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2014* This is a great book and delivers exactly what the jacket says. It is written for C++ developers and those who want to know details about COM. I would not say it is for the beginner, but there is no reason someone couldn't muscle through it. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/2731618-essential-com](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/2731618-essential-com) --- *Product available on Desertcart Great Britain* *Store origin: GB* *Last updated: 2026-04-23*