Python Programming On Win32

Using COM Objects from Python

When people discuss COM, they are often talking about only one side of COM—using automation objects. Automation objects are objects that expose a programmable interface that can be used by another program or environment. Examples of automation objects are Microsoft Office, the Netscape browser, or programs you write yourself in any language, such as Visual Basic, Python, Delphi, C++, and so forth.

Information about COM objects is stored in the Windows registry. Details about the object’s class are stored, so that when that particular object needs to be created, the correct class is located and used. Although the term “class” doesn’t refer to a Python (or C++) class, the concept is identical: the class defines the implementation, and the object is an instance of the class. Classes are registered with a unique (but complex) class ID (CLSID) and a friendly (but not guaranteed unique) program ID (ProgID). The CLSID is a globally unique identifier (GUID), as discussed later in this chapter, while the ProgID for an object is a short string that names the object and typically creates an instance of the object. For example, Microsoft Excel defines its ProgID as Excel.Application, Microsoft Word defines Word.Application, and so forth.

Python programs use the win32com.client.Dispatch() method to create COM objects from a ProgID or CLSID. For example, you could use this code to create an Excel object:

>>> import win32com.client >>> xl = win32com.client.Dispatch("Excel.Application") ...