Cross-platform alternative to COM

Question

I\'ve been enamoured with component based programming (be it with COM, another system, or just using the paradigm in plain C++). It requires a bit of getting used to, if one is

Answer 1

For maximum breadth, I'd just use web services. A service-oriented approach is very close to a component-oriented approach, as only the service contracts (interfaces) are exposed, and no details of the inner workings of the service need ever be known by the clients.