This topic applies only to applications written in Visual Basic.

The central object of any DirectPlay application is an instance of the DirectPlay4 class. The methods of this object are used for managing connections, sessions, players, and groups.

The DirectPlaySessionData class represents data about a session. Objects of this class are used in enumerating, creating, and joining sessions.

The DirectPlayLobby3 class enables applications to communicate through a lobby and be launched by a lobby server. If your application doesn't need to work with lobbies, it probably doesn't need to create a DirectPlayLobby3 object. However, this class does have methods for enumerating modems and creating DirectPlay addresses that might be used by a non-lobbied application.

The DirectPlayLobbyConnection class represents connection data passed to an application when it is launched from a lobby.

Collections of various kinds, called enumerations, are managed by objects of the following classes:

• DirectPlayEnumConnections
• DirectPlayEnumLocalApplications
• DirectPlayEnumPlayers
• DirectPlayEnumSessions

For example, in order to obtain information about the available connections, the application creates a DirectPlayEnumConnections object. Methods of this object can be used to retrieve data about any individual connection.

Objects of the DirectPlayMessage class represent messages sent to or from an application or a lobby.

The DirectPlayAddress class encapsulates predetermined connection data that is to be used by an application, such as an IP address or telephone number. Most applications don't need to use this class.

Finally, an object of the DirectPlaySessionData class contains information about an existing session or one that is to be created.