MOA Developer's Guide
MOA Interfaces | MOA Methods | MOA Types and Misc API
The MOA object model is derived from the Microsoft Component Object Model (COM), used to implement OLE (Object Linking and Embedding). However, while COM is designed as a universal, system-level object model, MOA is intended to be more task-specific. The scope of MOA is those areas within Macromedia applications that can benefit from runtime extensions. The purpose of MOA is to provide a consistent, modular way to define and implement those extensions. This restriction benefits MOA programmers by allowing them to focus on specific features rather than learning a large, general purpose system.
MOA is in one sense a subset of COM, and MOA objects are binary
compatible with COM. However, no effort has been made to implement
all features of COM, such as certain interfaces required by OLE
objects. If you're familiar with COM, you should find many similarities
in this discussion. If you're not familiar with COM, this discussion
provides all the background you need to understand MOA.
This documentation also includes a glossary and a list of frequently asked questions about MOA.