What is ActiveX?

ActiveX is an open, cross-platform standard that enables developers to create interactive content for the World Wide Web. ActiveX provides the glue that enables interactive software components, regardless of the language they are written in, to work together in a networked environment. Before ActiveX, web content was static, 2-dimensional text and graphics. With ActiveX, web sites come alive using multimedia effects, interactive objects, and sophisticated applications that create a user experience comparable to that of high quality CD-ROM titles.

Why Do Web Producers Use ActiveX?

• Active Web Content with Impact. ActiveX lets developers create dynamic web sites that will attract and retain users.
• Open, Cross Platform Support. ActiveX is an open, published standard that provides support for the Mac, Windows and Unix operating systems.
• Ability to Leverage Familiar Tools. ActiveX enables developers to use a stable of field tested tools from a wide assortment of vendors, including Microsoft Visual Basic and Visual C++, Borland Delpi, Borland C++, Java, and Java-enabled tools. Developers can use what they know and be productive immediately.
• ActiveX Controls Already Available.More than a thousand ActiveX controls are available today for immediate use by web producers.
• Support for Industry Standards. ActiveX has built-in support for key industry and de-facto marketplace standards, including HTML, TCP/IP, Java, COM, and others.

What Are The Primary Elements of ActiveX?

Most Web users will experience ActiveX as controls, documents and scripts, but the ActiveX standard embraces client, server and tools technologies:

• ActiveX Controls are the interactive objects in a Web page that provide interactive and user-controllable functions and hence enliven the experience of a Web site.
• ActiveX Documents enable users to view non-HTML documents, such as Microsoft Excel or Word files, through a Web browser.
• Active Scripting controls the integrated behavior of several ActiveX Controls and/or Java Applets from the browser or server.
• JavaÖ Virtual Machine is the code that enables any ActiveX-supported browser such as Internet Explorer 3.0 to run Java applets and to integrate Java applets with ActiveX controls.
• ActiveX Server Framework provides a number of web server-based functions such as security, database access, and others.
  
  

What Can ActiveX Do?

ActiveX enables developers with varied backgrounds and expertise to bring innovation and interactivity to the web. Based on a refinement of the existing COM standard already known by thousands of developers, it can leverage the knowledge and work of the development community without a steep learning curve. An exciting collection of thousands of interactive ActiveX objects is already available for immediate use by web producers. And because ActiveX is a third generation technology with extensive third party support, it provides the richest development platform for both Internet and Intranet client server applications available today. Like an orchestra whose members are software components, ActiveX plays the role of conductor, allowing talented individuals to work together and perform great works in unison. ActiveX, while not visible to the audience, is critical to the success of the performance.

Why is ActiveX Important?

ActiveX makes it fast and easy for developers and web producers to create unique, interactive web sites that will make the Internet fundamentally more useful and productive. Web producers don't have to start from scratch to build all the parts of their interactive web site, because there are already thousands of reusable controls available in the market. And because ActiveX can be used with a wide variety of programming languages from dozens of vendors, developers and web masters can make use of their current expertise to more quickly create compelling content. They can also accommodate a wide range of users, as ActiveX will be supported on multiple operating system platforms.

How Does ActiveX Work With Java?

ActiveX provides a standard mechanism to extend any programming language, including Java. ActiveX extends the capabilities of the Java language by allowing Java developers to integrate their applets with the richness of the ActiveX platform. ActiveX ties Java applets together with objects created in other languages, so that Java programmers can link to ActiveX controls directly from their Java programs. Similarly, objects written in other programming languages from multiple vendors can link to Java applets. ActiveX is the glue that ties them all together, delivering the most powerful web technologies in an open, integrated platform. By providing a standard technology platform to extend and link programming languages including Java, ActiveX maximizes developers' resources for interactive web development.

Who Supports ActiveX?

Hundreds of small, medium and large software companies currently create ActiveX controls, including companies such as Borland, Lotus/IBM Oracle and Sybase/Powersoft. As a result of their work, there are over 1000 existing ActiveX controls available for use today by web producers. In addition, 14 companies who create web design and development tools have built ActiveX support into their products, allowing their customers to both create and make use of ActiveX controls in their programs.

Where Does ActiveX Run?

ActiveX is currently supported on the Windows operating system. Microsoft is working with Metrowerks to support ActiveX on the Macintosh platform and is also working with Bristol and Mainsoft to support it on UNIX platforms. Developers who write ActiveX controls and other ActiveX objects will be able to reach the widest possible user audience with this cross-platform solution.

Which Web Browsers Support ActiveX?

Today, Internet Explorer is the best way for web browser users to view and experience ActiveX content. While all ActiveX standards and technologies are completely documented and published so that other browser vendors can adopt them, Internet Explorer is the only browser today which provides full support for ActiveX.

Microsoft also provides the ActiveX plug in for Netscape Navigator, enabling Navigator users to experience some of the benefits of ActiveX enabled web pages.