Object Linking and Embedding (
OLE,
sometimes pronounced ) is a
proprietary technology developed by
Microsoft that allows embedding and
linking to
documents and other objects. For developers, it brought OLE Control Extension (OCX), a way to develop and use custom user interface elements. On a technical level, an OLE object is any object that implements the
IOleObject interface, possibly along with a wide range of other interfaces, depending on the object's needs.