The Design of a COM-Oriented Module System

TL;DR

This paper proposes a new module system inspired by COM and Standard ML, featuring first-class components and interfaces, with automated memory management and simplified interface handling.

Contribution

It introduces a novel module system that combines COM-like components with first-class interfaces and automated memory management, simplifying interface handling.

Findings

Supports first-class component instances and interfaces

Automates memory management of interfaces

Simplifies interface handling by hiding low-level mechanisms

Abstract

We present in this paper the preliminary design of a module system based on a notion of components such as they are found in COM. This module system is inspired from that of Standard ML, and features first-class instances of components, first-class interfaces, and interface-polymorphic functions, as well as allowing components to be both imported from the environment and exported to the environment using simple mechanisms. The module system automates the memory management of interfaces and hides the IUnknown interface and QueryInterface mechanisms from the programmer, favoring instead a higher-level approach to handling interfaces.