a reusable software unit that encapsulates or packages the manufacturing of a specific class of COM object
An object that supports automation through exposed properties and methods. Examples of component objects include ActiveX controls, ActiveX documents, and ActiveX code components.
An object defined according to the OLE Component Object Model (COM). A component object has a set of interfaces that communicate with the object, data associated with an instance of the object at run-time, and the ability to support multiple instances of the object running at the same time.