DirectX COM Documentation Conventions

By convention, Component Object Model (COM) methods and interfaces are referred to in the documentation by their equivalent C++ class names. The Initialize method of the IDirectPlay8Peer interface is thus referred to as IDirectPlay8Peer::Initialize. The primary reason for this convention is that different interfaces may export a method with the same name but with entirely different functionality and syntax. For example, many interfaces have an Init or Initialize method, but the functionality and parameters may be quite different. Using the C++ class name is a convenient way to uniquely identify the method.

The text and sample code generally uses C++ conventions for calling COM methods. See Using C to Access COM Objects, for a discussion of how to convert a C++ method call to its C equivalent.