<s>
The	O
Active	B-Language
Template	I-Language
Library	I-Language
(	O
ATL	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
template-based	O
C++	B-Language
classes	O
developed	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
intended	O
to	O
simplify	O
the	O
programming	O
of	O
Component	B-Application
Object	I-Application
Model	I-Application
(	O
COM	O
)	O
objects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
COM	O
support	O
in	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Visual	I-Application
C++	I-Application
allows	O
developers	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
COM	B-Application
objects	I-Application
,	O
OLE	B-Application
Automation	I-Application
servers	I-Application
,	O
and	O
ActiveX	B-Application
controls	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
COM	O
client	O
side	O
ATL	O
provides	O
smart	B-Language
pointers	I-Language
that	O
deal	O
with	O
COM	O
reference	O
counting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
library	B-Library
makes	O
heavy	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
curiously	B-Language
recurring	I-Language
template	I-Language
pattern	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
COM	B-Application
objects	I-Application
can	O
also	O
be	O
created	O
with	O
Microsoft	B-Language
Foundation	I-Language
Classes	I-Language
(	O
MFC	O
)	O
,	O
but	O
this	O
leads	O
to	O
larger	O
binaries	O
that	O
require	O
support	O
DLLs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ATL	O
version	O
7	O
also	O
introduced	O
attributes	O
in	O
C++	B-Language
in	O
an	O
attempt	O
to	O
provide	O
something	O
similar	O
to	O
CLI	O
attributes	O
,	O
however	O
these	O
have	O
not	O
been	O
particularly	O
successful	O
,	O
and	O
have	O
been	O
deemphasized	O
in	O
ATL	O
version	O
8	O
(	O
Visual	O
Studio	O
2005	O
)	O
;	O
the	O
various	O
wizards	O
no	O
longer	O
generate	O
them	O
by	O
default	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
July	O
28	O
,	O
2009	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
released	O
a	O
patch	O
to	O
ATL	O
to	O
fix	O
a	O
bug	O
that	O
could	O
allow	O
ActiveX	B-Application
controls	I-Application
created	O
using	O
ATL	O
to	O
be	O
vulnerable	O
to	O
a	O
remote	O
code	O
execution	O
security	O
flaw	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
Visual	O
Studio	O
2013	O
,	O
ATL	O
code	O
in	O
Visual	B-Application
C++	I-Application
2013	O
is	O
static	O
,	O
eliminating	O
the	O
DLL	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ATL	O
includes	O
many	O
RAII	B-Application
classes	O
to	O
simplify	O
management	O
of	O
COM	O
types	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
not	O
formally	O
part	O
of	O
ATL	O
,	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Visual	I-Application
C++	I-Application
also	O
includes	O
additional	O
C++	B-Language
RAII	B-Application
classes	O
to	O
simplify	O
management	O
of	O
COM	O
types	O
.	O
</s>
