Newbie consuming bean from VB6 COM

Question

Hi - I'm completely new to Beans and am trying to call a Java method from VB6 as 'proof of concept'.
My java code has one method that returns a string; it compiles OK to a .class file; I can create a .jar using a manifest file containing "Java-Bean: True"; and I can use the activex packager to create a .tlb file.
When I try to instantiate my class from VB6 using early binding I get "automation error - the specified module could not be found", and late binding using CreateObject just gives me "activex component cannot create object"
Does anyone have ideas to what the problem is ??
Thanks, Andrew.

Answer 1

you need to compile your bean with the ActiveX packager (packager.exe) to a DLL. then you must register the dll (e.g. with regsvr32.exe), then you must reference the component (DLL) in visual basic, and then you can use it:
Private Sub Form_Load()
    Dim value
    Dim java As Object
    Set java = CreateObject("JavaTestBean.Bean.1") 'create bean object
    java.setValue (3)         'call method setValue() of bean
    value = java.getValue()   'call method getValue() of bean
    MsgBox "Value: " & value  'print calculated value
    Set java = Nothing
End Sub
see also http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/docs/guide/beans/axbridge/developerguide/index.html