INTRODUCTION

UNIX applications usually don't communicate well with each other. At the most basic level, it is possible to send textual results of one command line application into another. This is as opposed to GUI-based applications which can use the clipboard to transfer data.

Applications that wish to communicate even more intimately can either use RPC calls or employ shared libraries. Both RPC communication and shared libraries are very low level methods that neither includes conventions on the type of information communicated nor the form of the communication. Each pair of applications has to define its own set of conventions.

Windows applications, however, are expected to operate together in specific ways. At the most basic level, a user needs to be able to copy and paste text and graphics between applications. Generally, applications employ dynamic data exchange (DDE) for closer communication between applications. DDE is similar to RPC.

However, at the more complex level. Windows applications are migrating towards the premise of component software. If you were to use a simple cut and paste and wanted the results of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet in your Microsoft Word document then you need do the following operation: Exit Microsoft Word, open Excel, create the spreadsheet, copy it onto the clipboard, return to Word, and paste it in your document.

However, a button on the standard Microsoft Word toolbar allows you insert an Excel spreadsheet directly into your Word document and edit it within the program. It is not necessary to have to...