The introduction of the Microsoft® .NET framework not only brings developers a powerful, cohesive toolset for the development of new Windows and Web applications -- it also replaces COM as the technology of choice for building components on Windows platforms. Components are the fundamental building blocks of .NET applications; they can both simplify and add flexibility to complex applications. Applied properly, component-oriented programming enable reuse, allow for long-term maintenance, application extensibility and scalability.

Component technology is nothing new, but the .NET Framework offers developers a new way to develop binary components rapidly, without the hurdles that many COM developers have had to deal with prior to .NET. While retaining all of the core concepts that define component-oriented development--language independence, separation of interface from implementation, binary compatibility, versioning, concurrency management, location transparency, security, deployment--.NET is built upon a fresh component-oriented runtime that has an easier time providing these core concepts.

Programming .NET Components offers a complete introduction to the new Microsoft .NET component model, focusing on the aspects of .NET that make it ideal for building reusable, maintainable, and robust components. Author Juval Löwy, a noted authority on component-oriented programming, teaches the intricacies of .NET component programming and the related system issues to application developers, along with relevant design guidelines, tips, best practices, and known pitfalls. The book is packed with helpful original utilities aimed at simplifying the programming model and increasing the developer productivity.

The book begins with an appreciation for the "why" and fundamentals of component-oriented programming, and then continues with an introduction to .NET essentials. Following practical, expert advice on effective .NET development techniques, the book then devotes a chapter to each of the following features critical to component development:

• Resource management
• Versioning
• Events
• Asynchronous calls
• Multithreading
• Serialization
• Remoting
• Component services
• Security.