Selecting a Windows Programming Language

Any language that supports calling ActiveX components, also known as Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) Automation servers, should be able to make calls to IOM interfaces. That is, almost every programming language product that is available on the Windows platform can use the SAS IOM interfaces.
Microsoft designed the ActiveX components technology with a heavy bias toward meeting the needs of Visual Basic. Much of the technology is effectively a part of the Visual Basic run-time environment. In its own implementations of ActiveX components, such as in the Microsoft Office Suite, Microsoft has documented the interfaces in terms of the Visual Basic language.
Based on this convention and on the wide use of Visual Basic as a Windows programming language, we have documented the SAS IOM interfaces in terms of Visual Basic language syntax and conventions.
The .NET run time, with its family of languages including C# and VB.NET, represents the latest direction in Windows programming. ASP.NET is now the environment of choice for Windows web applications. The .NET environment also supports traditional desktop graphical user interface (GUI) clients similar to those that were developed with Visual Basic forms in Visual Basic 6 (VB6). IOM integrates fully with .NET through the use of COM Interoperability. For more information, see Programming in the .NET Environment .