What is ActiveX ?

Posted by shan on September 3rd, 2010

Active X is the name for a selection of object-oriented tools and programming technologies that were developed by Microsoft for World Wide Web. With ActiveX, Web sites come alive using multimedia effects, interactive objects, and sophisticated applications that create a user experience comparable to that of high-quality CD-ROM titles.

From time to time, new versions of Active X have been released to provide support to the ever widening array of applications that are used in the home and the workplace.

What Does Active X do

Essentially, Active X is Microsoft’s equivalent to Java, the tool manufactured by Sun Microsystems. This means that Active X can provide the means to launch a wide range of online features, such as the ability to view screens in a web conference, participate in message boards, and interact with various types of online media.

What Are Active X Elements?

ActiveX includes both client and server technologies.

ActiveX Controls are the interactive objects in a Web page that provide interactive and user-controllable functions and hence enliven the experience of a Web site.
ActiveX Documents enable users to view non-HTML documents, such as Microsoft Excel or Word files, through a Web browser.
Active Scripting controls the integrated behavior of several ActiveX controls and/or Java Applets from the browser or server.
Java™ Virtual Machine is the code that enables any ActiveX-supported browser such as Internet Explorer 3.0 to run Java applets and to integrate Java applets with ActiveX controls.
ActiveX Server Framework provides a number of Web server-based functions such as security, database access, and others.