ArcGIS 10 and Custom Feature

Question

As I read, the VB support from ArcGIS 10 is gone, and VBA is in its last release and won't be shipped in the next release. Both these technologies harnesses the ArcObjects using the COM technology.

I have a few questions that someone can throw light on:

(1) Does this also mean that COM API is also gone from ArcObjects? If not, then VB should continue to work, right? 
(2) Does anyone know how the Custom Features developed using C++ and COM aggregation would be developed in ArcGIS 10? 
(3) Is there any document or a whitepaper out there which discusses this?

Thank you,

Gagag
===============

RichardWatson · Answer

ArcMap embeds VBA as a product within it.  That includes the UI to write and debug code as well as the mechanism which executes it.  In 10.1, they will cease to include this.

VBA inside of ArcMap is dead.

You can still use VB6 but if you have problems then ESRI will not help you because they dropped support for VB6 in 10.0.

JanetRogers · Answer

Could someone please inform me.  When we talk about VBA not being supported in the next release, does this mean that in 10.1 no vba code will work?

GagagDa_Morvi · Answer

COM will follow the same path that VB6 and VBA have.  Have you noticed that the C++ SDK for 10 has been relegated to a few notes in help?  Not much love there either.  For Microsoft platforms, ESRI is moving towards pure .NET.  Look at add-ins in 10.  Look how they removed component catagories from the registry.  Everything that ESRI (and Microsoft) is doing and showing is .NET.  How many books in print can you still buy on COM?  The death of COM cometh.

At the recent developers summit, ESRI provided additional hints of this in their work on 10.1 and beyond.

Thank you.