COM vs .NET

Developers should learn COM when working on legacy Windows applications, system-level programming, or integrating with Microsoft technologies like Office automation or Internet Explorer meets developers should learn . Here's our take.

COM

Nice Pick

Developers should learn COM when working on legacy Windows applications, system-level programming, or integrating with Microsoft technologies like Office automation or Internet Explorer

Pros

• It's essential for maintaining or extending older Windows software, building COM-based APIs, or understanding low-level component architecture in Windows environments
• Related to: windows-api, ole-automation

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

.NET

Developers should learn

Pros

• NET for building enterprise-grade, scalable applications on Windows, Linux, and macOS, especially in corporate environments or for cloud-native development with Azure
• Related to: c-sharp, asp-net-core

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. COM is a concept while .NET is a platform. We picked COM based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

COM wins

Based on overall popularity. COM is more widely used, but .NET excels in its own space.