Mike:

>> Programmers no longer need to know the name of the variable to instantiate.

> But they need to know the name of the procedure to set it,
Yes, but they don't need to know how to use the class at all. In fact, they don't even need to be aware there is class that do most of the work.

> and the procedure has to be available to them.
Yes, but what's the difference? The class has to be available. If both the class and the function are coded in the same PRG, making the procedure and class available to the programmers takes the sane exact amount of work as making the class available to the programmers.

> Sounds like the same situation, just more complex.
Really? I used to be lead programmer/code librarian for a team of around 25 programmers working on 5-12 diffeent projects at the same time. Turnover was between 10-20%. All projects were "customization" of a base system for large clients. I wote the core/tools libraries. One of my goals was for every programmer to be aware of all the functionalities contained in the libraries and know how to use them. Explaining the GetDate function (paraneters and returned value) would take me 1 minute (I wouldn't even bother mentionning there is a class underneath); explaining how to use the clsCalendar would take me at least 15 minutes because I would have to answer some questions from the floor.

If you work alone, do whatever feels more natural to you. If you work on a team, your focus should be to develop tools that are easy to use.

Daniel