### Module win32com.client - COM Client Support

## SYNOPSIS

    # Parent Module
    win32com

    # Modules
    win32com.client.CLSIDToClass  # Manages a dictionary of CLSID strings to Python classes.
    win32com.client.build  # Contains knowledge to build a COM object definition.
    win32com.client.clsidtoclass  # Manages a dictionary of CLSID strings to Python classes.
    win32com.client.combrowse  # A utility for browsing COM objects.
    win32com.client.connect  # Utilities for working with Connections
    win32com.client.dynamic  # Support for dynamic COM client support.
    win32com.client.makepy  # Generate a .py file from an OLE TypeLibrary file.

    win32com.client.tlbrowse
    win32com.client.util  # General client side utilities.

## DESCRIPTION

This package contains support for Python as a COM client.

This is the ability to use other COM servers, not necessarily implemented in Python. For example, the client support can be used to talk to Microsoft Office, Visual Basic Servers, OCX controls, etc.

Currently, there are 2 primary ways to use Python as a COM client - using generated .py files as supported in the makepy module, or using dynamic COM objects, as supported in the dynamic module. An overview of each of the techniques is provided below.

A key advantage of this approach is the "type checking" or pre-built knowledge that the Python then has about the server. The operations are very fast, and in may cases, smart handling of paramaters and return types is performed.

The key disadvantages to this approach is that the .py files must be generated before the modules can be used. This can type some time to generate, and significant memory and machine resources may be needed to `compile` (ie, generate a .pyc) file first time Python uses the module. Also, there is no standard place or process for automatic (ie, on the fly) generatiion of these files

In general, Python does a reasonable job using this approach. In fact, Python does an almost perfect job when the IDispatch has type information available at run time - although this fact is invisible to the user.

But in some cases, Python and COM do not get on so well.

The key advantage to this approach is that no prior knowledge of a COM server, and no type information is necessary. This allows you to get running much faster.

The key disadvantage is that Python and COM occasionally can not agree on certain details, providing less than optimal results.

Generated File Support
  Using a COM object's type information, the makepy module can be used to generate a .py source file which interfaces to the server. This module generates full classes and constants defined in the type library.
Dynamic COM Support
  Dynamic COM support is the ability of Python to talk to COM servers, given no prior knowledge of the COM server (ie, given no more than an IDispatch pointer). This is implemented by the dynamic module.

Copyright © Greg Stein, Mark Hammond, Curt Hagenlocher and a few other contributors
All Rights Reserved
Comments to author:
Generated: Sun Apr 20 1997