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Microsoft's Windows Runtime (or WinRT, not to be confused with [[Windows RT]]) programming and application model is essentially a COM-based API, although it relies on an enhanced COM. Because of its COM-like basis, Windows Runtime allows relatively easy interfacing from multiple languages, just as COM does, but it is essentially an unmanaged, native API. The API definitions are, however, stored in ".winmd" files, which are encoded in ECMA 335 metadata format, the same [[metadata (CLI)|CLI metadata]] format that .NET uses with a few modifications. This common metadata format allows for significantly less overhead than P/Invoke when WinRT is invoked from .NET applications, and its syntax is much simpler.
=== Nano-COM
'''Nano-COM''' is
A Nano-COM header file defines or names at least three types:
* IUnknown as the base type for all typed object references - this is effectively abstract virtual functions to support <code>dynamic_cast<T></code>-style acquisition of new interface types and ref counting a la <code>shared_ptr<T>.</code>▼
* GUID {{endash}} identifies an interface type
Many uses of Nano-COM also define two functions to address callee-allocated memory buffers as results▼
* <NanoCom>Alloc – called by method implementations to allocate raw buffers (not objects) that are returned to the caller▼
* HRESULT {{endash}} method result codes such as S_OK, E_FAIL, E_OUTOFMEMORY
* <NanoCom>Free – called by method callers to free callee-allocated buffers once no longer in use▼
▲* IUnknown
▲Many uses of Nano-COM
▲* <NanoCom>Alloc
▲* <NanoCom>Free
Some implementations of Nano-COM such as Direct3D eschew the allocator functions and restrict themselves to only use caller-allocated buffers.
Nano-COM has no notion of classes, apartments, marshaling, registration, etc. Rather, object references are simply passed across function boundaries and allocated via standard language constructs (e.g., C++ <code>new</code> operator).
The basis of Nano-COM was used by Mozilla to bootstrap Firefox (called [[XPCOM]]), and is currently in use as the base ABI technology for [[DirectX]]/[[Direct3D]]/[[DirectML]].
==Security==
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