The SAP DCOM Connector product provides remote access to R/3 business logic. More specifically, the SAP DCOM Connector uses services from the Microsoft DCOM MTS to provide a COM interface for calling SAP RFCs and BAPIs remotely. This product can be used instead of the obsolete SAP vrfc32.dll and the SAP logon.ocx products in applications that use DCOM.

The SAP DCOM Connector product with its DCOM Object Builder allows you to create COM objects that act as proxies for business objects or remote functions in an R/3 system.

These COM objects, which we will refer to as the DCOM Connector COM objects, contain properties such as destination system, client, user name, and password, which are necessary for establishing a connection to an SAP system.

As the following diagram illustrates, these connection-related properties exist in the DCOM Connector COM objects in addition to the methods or other attributes of the original business object or remote function.

For example, a DCOM Connector COM object for the GeneralLedgerAccount business object contains the various connection properties in addition to the standard GeneralLedgerAccount BAPIs, such as GetDetail.

When working with objects based on the SAP DCOM Connector you must set these DCOM Connector COM object connection properties before using the object in a way that requires a connection; for example, before calling one of its BAPIs.

A DCOM Connector COM object includes several standard methods, one of which is PutSessionInfo. This method allows you to copy the connection properties into the DCOM Connector COM object. You have to specify the values of the various connection attributes as parameters for this call.

The DCOM Connector Logon Component is part of the SAP Automation suite of products. It provides a Connection class that helps programs using the SAP DCOM Connector handle the connection parameters of DCOM Connector COM objects.

The DCOM Connector Logon Component:

• Provides a Logon dialog with which you can get the necessary connection parameters from an end user
• Allows you to easily copy connection parameters into a DCOM Connector COM object

The DCOM Connector Logon Component can be used instead of the Logon Control (wdtlog.ocx) in applications that use the SAP DCOM Connector.

The DCOM Connector Logon component provides a single class, namely the Connection class, for working with various connection parameters.

• Allows you to control whether you allow the end user to choose or change destination systems
• Allows the end user to add, change, or delete destination definitions
• Tracks recently used destination systems

• Get various connection properties from the Windows Registry
• Use the various properties of the Connection object to handle logon information
• Copy the connection information from the properties of the Connection object into the connection properties of your DCOM Connector COM objects

The SAP DCOM Connector Logon Component can be used by DCOM-compliant programs, such as those written in Visual Basic, Java, C++, and so on.

If you are using the SAP Automation DCOM Connector Logon Component you will be mainly using two of the components of the SAP DCOM Connector:

• The Object Builder, which helps you create the COM objects representing the SAP business objects or function modules, in the client system.
• The Destination Editor, which allows you to define destinations, and then adds the destination entries to the Windows registry.

The following diagram shows the relationship between the SAP DCOM Connector, the COM object you create with it, the Windows registry, the SAP DCOM Connector Logon Component and its Connection object: