>Yeah sort of, we have gotten the Ultimate Grid from Dundas Software ( it is totally awesome and beats all the other grids we have evaluated hands down ) and it is written in VC++. We are re-writting our whole VFP application and started planning it in VC++/MFC and SQL Server and are now moving to .NET/SQL Server 2000. The grid connects to an ADO source rather painlessly. I have converted most of the basic code over to managed C++ and so far the basic functionality still works through ADO. Second step was to try and use ADO.NET to connect to the grid datasource instead of the old ADO call. I have the ADO.NET class written in C# down to where I load the DataAdapter and I want to call it from the managed C++ code, but just can't seem to get it right. The grid code calls a function to bind the datasource to the grid and passes the address of the ADO object it created as a parameter.
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>What research I have done I concur with you and I am thinking it can only be called as a COM object. We were hoping for a more seamless way of crossing between languages. I thought that was the premise of the CLR unless I am missing something.

C++ isn't exactly a true .NET language - it's a hybrid that can output both. I think the basic idea is that you can call components across languages but the UI (other than ActiveX) doesn't work that way. It'll be one way or another (CLR or MFC), but not mix and match.

This makes sense to me too - you wouldn't want to mix and match. Too much work and inconsistency. For backwards compatibility and integration, maybe. But for full scale solution - I think choosing one or the other technology is likely a better choice.

+++ Rick ---