CODEWITHSUNDEEP
vb.netcomwindows-shell
Gulbahar
Gulbahar

Reputation: 5547

Unmanaged language or library to write shell extension?

I need to write a cascading shell extension à la 7Zip. It appears that only the .Net 4 framework supports this, but even in March 2012, MS still advises against using a managed language for this purpose.

So what unmanaged languages are available to write shell extensions for Windows (XP, Vista, 7)?

I read that writing a COM DLL is not easy even for seasoned C++ developpers, so it's probably a dead-end for non-pros. VB6 has been deadware for a decade. I looked at PureBasic and PowerBasic but they don't seem good candidates either.

So is there simply no reasonably easy language to write a cascading shell extension?

As a work-around, is there a library that I could call from VB.Net that would handle the hard part?

Thank you.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 178

Answers (1)

Rob
Rob

Reputation: 63

There is not a lot you can do if you're not willing to go into the unmanaged world. There is a series of articles on codeproject. This is the first of such articles. They helped me quite a bit. It is written in unmanaged c++ using visual studios ATL project which takes care of some other classes that you would otherwise have to deal with.

COM objects may not be the easiest thing to understand but once they're working they are fairly solid. If anything just treat it as a learning experience.

Upvotes: 1

Related Questions