shell.dll exports question

[Zen]

I'm wondering,...this is kind of a bizarre question,...
I was playing around with Japheth's COMView, and I found this COM Class (actually the CLSID),...and, it looked interesting,...
It's name is: COpenControlPanel,...and it's supposedly exported from shell.dll,...(this is the [Default] location string associated with the  InprocServer32 SubKey).   
When I run dumpbin on shell.dll with the /EXPORTS option in the command line, I get an enormous number of exported functions,...and, most of them are exported by ordinal,...but, no, COpenControlPanel.   
...So, I'm wondering,...is there a way to determine which ordinal is actually COpenControlPanel ???

...Or, maybe,...I should just write a COM Client app and call CoCreateInstance using the CLSID (or, maybe using a Class Moniker),...
What do you think ???

[dedndave]

COM interfaces won't show up in exports because they are virtualized methods
i.e., they might look more like data than code, until you call them

[Yuri]

COM server DLLs export a function named DllGetClassObject. It's used to obtain a ClassFactory object, which in turn is used to create the object you need. CoCreateInstance probably does all this behind the scenes.

[Zen]

COM interfaces won't show up in exports because they are virtualized methods.

Thanks, DAVE,...I didn't know that,...:icon_eek:

[dedndave]

i think you probably did know it - it just hasn't sunk in, yet - lol
remember - COM interfaces are essentially "structures" filled with code vectors   :t
they're not referenced by name, but by registered CLSID

[Zen]

DAVE !!!
...And, all this time I thought you were merely a 'Device Context groupie',...

[dedndave]

i understand just enough of both to be hazardous - lol

[Zen]

...Well,...again,...thanks,...DAVE !!!
You're so well informed,...I wish I had your brain,...

[FORTRANS]

Zombie?

[K_F]

A question on this...

Does a COM object register itself every time it runs, or only once on installation.
Just thinking that if it only registers it's GUI on running then DllGetClassObject/CoCreateInstance would likely fail, or do these two functions load the DLL for you ? :icon_confused:

[Zen]

Hi, VAN,   
Typically a COM CoClass (an InprocServer32 DLL) is only registered once when it is installed. The code (Register Server) makes a number of Registry entries that the COM Library uses to determine the location of the server. The client application calls CoCreateInstance, using the CLSID, and the SCM loads the COM DLL (if it is an InprocServer) and, returns a pointer to the Com Class's Virtual Function Table.