What is the future of ActiveX ?

Hi all.

I am at the decision stage how to create some HMI screen functionality.
I consider to do it either with some kind of ActiveX routine, or by coding VB scripts.
Using ActiveX will be the easier solution, but I then get a doubt about it.
What is the long term future of ActiveX ?
I am thinking of that Microsoft is moving to dot net in stead of ActiveX. I am in no way "in the know" when it comes to programming Windows functions, and I am afraid to take a wrong road at this stage.
I know that ActiveX will continue to be supported for some time, but that "some time" will be a relative short time in an industrial lifespan. Will I have to scratch everything and start all over in 5 years time ?

Any gurus out there ?

I guess it depends on the HMI program one uses.

Citect support ActiveX and I would imagine they will do so into the forseeable future. They tend to do that for compatability back to older versions.

Microsucks are pushing the dot net barrow but have pushed, and abandoned, a lot of barrows in the past. Considering their update site uses ActiveX to check on the updates one requires for one's computer, one may consider that ActiveX may have a long term future or they would probably have gone dot net by now.

Thanks for the reply Bob.

I should have mentioned that I use Win CC Flexible as my HMI.
And what I am working with right now is to display CSV files from within the HMI. I have both an ActiveX and almost finished VB Script code at the moment, so I can choose any of the two freely.

I can see that with VB Script I can do practically anything, the only downer is that the code that I write require a lot of maintenance as opposed to just dropping in an ActiveX.

I got the doubts about ActiveX as a subsuppliers HMI (nothing to do with my own project) has got serious problems with Windows XP. He wants a big fee just for updating his HMI to work with XP (it works on Win 2000 at the moment).
If there are problems just from 2000 to XP, what then about the longer term future ?

He wants a big fee just for updating his HMI to work with XP

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Typical Jesper - big fee to fix their own problems. How long has ActveX been around? Software developers really annoy me sometimes.

If there are problems just from 2000 to XP,

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I find it hard to believe that the problems are that huge. After all XP is based on 2000.

Citect have had ActiveX for longer than I can remember.

Good luck.

I find it hard to believe that the problems are that huge. After all XP is based on 2000.

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How trivial the problem may be, it is still unsolvable by myself, as I dont have any access to the ActiveX code.

Citect have had ActiveX for longer than I can remember.

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Yes, the point is that ActiveX is old, and Microsoft has officially launced on a completely new strategy. My fear is that it is a matter of time before you cannot run these ActiveX based programs. Microsoft stopped all support for Win 98 and Win Me a few days ago. And I know of several companies that have HMI programs that only run on Win 98. I dont want to be in the same situation as them in a few years time.

You can still create ActiveX modules in .NET, they have to be created in C++.

ActiveX is part of COM and COM is supported by Windows Vista, so I think your ActiveX controls will be fine for some time to come.

If you do use activex watch out for microblunders a/x's

A supplier recently used them for text boxes on a Scada for us & the overveiw had lots of them, it kept crashing so with a bit of diagnostics noticed it was the ms a/x's so he changed them to standard ifix jobbies & hey presto no more problems

Thanks Tak and parky, I have been away for a weeks time, thats why I couldnt check your posts.

I didnt know you could make ActiveX's in .NET. Like you say it could indicate that it will continue to work with the most recent Windows versions for a while.