1. Chapter 1 COM+ Internals

   1. What Is COM+?

   2. COM and COM+

   3. Knowing the Internals

   4. Introduction to .NET

2. Chapter 2 Interface-Based Programming

   1. Why Interface-Based Programming?

   2. Defining Interfaces in Visual Basic

   3. Using a Class Through an Interface

   4. Polymorphism I (Multiple Components—Single Interface)

   5. Polymorphism II (Single Component—Multiple Interfaces)

   6. Review

3. Chapter 3 How Interfaces Work Internally

   1. Life Without Interfaces

   2. Memory Layout of Interfaces

   3. COM as a Binary Standard

   4. Type Libraries

   5. COM Standard Interfaces: IUnknown and IDispatch

   6. Summary

4. Chapter 4 In-Process Servers

   1. Client-Server Communication: A High-Level View

   2. Client-Server Communication: A Low-Level View

5. Chapter 5 Out-of-Process Servers and COM's Remoting Architecture

   1. ActiveX EXEs

   2. Threads

   3. Remoting and Location Transparency

   4. Pinging Mechanism

   5. Summary

6. Chapter 6 Versioning

   1. The Goal of COM Versioning

   2. Client Requirements

   3. COM's Versioning Story

   4. How Visual Basic Versions Your COM Objects

   5. Using IDL

   6. Summary

7. Chapter 7 COM+ Applications

   1. Creating a COM+ Application

   2. Services Overview

   3. COM+ Administration Components

   4. Summary

8. Chapter 8 Writing and Debugging COM+ Code

   1. COM+ Architecture

   2. Debugging COM+ Applications

9. Chapter 9 Transaction Services

   1. What Is a Transaction?

   2. Declarative Transactions

   3. Summary

10. Chapter 10 COM+ Security

    1. Security Terminology

    2. RPC Security

    3. COM/COM+ Security

    4. Internet-Based Security

    5. Summary

11. Chapter 11 Introduction to .NET

    1. The .NET Architecture

    2. Developing Assemblies

    3. VB.NET Features

    4. Mixing COM+ and .NET

    5. Using COM+ Services

    6. Summary

1. Colophon

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The fish on the cover of COM+ Programming with Visual Basic are minnows. Although the term "minnow" is commonly used to describe any number of small freshwater fish, minnow is actually the name for a family of fish, most of which are dull in color and only a few inches in length. Some species of minnow, however, grow to a foot in length, and the males turn bright red or orange just before the spring spawning season. The family includes various types of chubs, daces, shriners, minnows, and carp, all of which have scaleless heads, toothless jaws (but teeth on a bone in the throat), pelvic fins (rather than fins extending from their sides), and a single dorsal fin in common.

Minnows are extremely plentiful in North American freshwaters, forming the basis of fish fauna in most ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers. Many of the smaller minnow species perform key roles in the food chain; these "primary consumers" feed on bottom ooze, algae, and aquatic plants and in turn serve as protein-rich meals for larger fish and fish-eating birds.

While the minnow family has been evolutionarily successful, diversifying into many species that densely occupy a variety of habitats and perform key functions in the food chain, it has been challenged recently by the human practice of diverting and polluting waters. In fact, in 1994, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Division of Endangered Species identified the Rio Grande silvery minnow Hybognathus amarus as endangered due to "dewatering, channelization and regulation of river flow to provide water for irrigation; diminished water quality caused by municipal, industrial, and agricultural discharges; and competition or predation by introduced non-native fish species." Apparently, this particular species now occupies only "five percent of its known historic range." Catherine Morris was the production editor and proofreader, and Norma Emory was the copyeditor for COM+ Programming with Visual Basic. Linley Dolby, Nicole Arigo, and Claire Cloutier provided quality control. Pamela Murray wrote the index.

Pam Spremulli designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from the Dover Pictorial Archive. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

David Futato designed the interior layout based on a series design by Nancy Priest. Anne-Marie Vaduva converted the files from Microsoft Word to FrameMaker 5.5.6 using tools created by Mike Sierra. The text and heading fonts are ITC Garamond Light and Garamond Book; the code font is Constant Willison. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand 9 and Adobe Photoshop 6. This colophon was written by Sarah Jane Shangraw.