You can use registration free COM to avoid having to register a COM dll with the registry.
What I'm currently trying to figure out is whether this is still supposed to work when the component you are trying to use is also independently registered with the windows registry.
Example:
...\MyApp\MyApp.exe
...\MyApp\MyApp.exe.manifest
...\MyApp\pdm.dll <- manifest points to this DLL for ProcessDebugManager Class
However, another version of pdm.dll may also be registered in the registry by another program.
Which version will MyApp.exe then use? The one from the registry or the one from the program directory referenced in the manifest?
Is this supposed to be supported?
When I try it, my private DLL is loaded by the process and not the one registered in the registry. (Verfied through ProcessExplorer)
I still don't know whether this is fully supported, but I guess it's good enough.