Python Programming On Win32

Using or Implementing Objects

There is a clear distinction between using COM objects and implementing COM objects. When you use a COM object, you make method calls on an object provided externally. When you implement a COM object, you publish an object with a number of interfaces external clients can use.

This distinction is just as true for the IDispatch interface; programs that use an IDispatch object must call the GetIDsOfNames() and Invoke() methods to perform method calls or property reference. Objects that wish to allow themselves to be called via IDispatch must implement the GetIDsOfNames() and Invoke() methods, providing the logic for translating between names and IDs, and so forth.

In the PythonCOM world, this distinction is known as client- and server-side COM. Python programs that need to use COM interfaces use client-side COM, while Python programs that implement COM interfaces use server-side COM.