Introduction to COM Programming in Delphi - ablealias/Delphi GitHub Wiki

COM stands for Component Object Model. It allows you to create COM objects that are not specific to any language, and in some cases, even platforms. For instance, COM objects can be ported to a Unix system. COM programming brings programmers the following benefits:

• Create objects that can be used by multiple programming languages
• Create ActiveX controls
• Control other programs via OLE automation (like MSWord, Excel, I.E)
• Work with objects or programs on other machines (DCOM)