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title: "Using CObject | Microsoft Docs"
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---
# Using CObject
[CObject](../mfc/reference/cobject-class.md) is the root base class for most of the Microsoft Foundation Class Library (MFC). The `CObject` class contains many useful features that you may want to incorporate into your own program objects, including serialization support, run-time class information, and object diagnostic output. If you derive your class from `CObject`, your class can exploit these `CObject` features.  
  
## What do you want to do  
  
-   [Derive a class from CObject](../mfc/deriving-a-class-from-cobject.md)  
  
-   [Add support for run-time class information, dynamic creation, and serialization to my derived class](../mfc/specifying-levels-of-functionality.md)  
  
-   [Access run-time class information](../mfc/accessing-run-time-class-information.md)  
  
-   [Create objects dynamically](../mfc/dynamic-object-creation.md)  
  
-   [Dump the object's data for diagnostic purposes](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/727855b1-5a83-44bd-9fe3-f1d535584b59)  
  
-   Validate the object's internal state (see [MFC ASSERT_VALID and CObject::AssertValid](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/7654fb75-9e9a-499a-8165-0a96faf2d5e6))  
  
-   [Have the class serialize itself to persistent storage](../mfc/serialization-in-mfc.md)  
  
-   See a list of [CObject Frequently Asked Questions](../mfc/cobject-class-frequently-asked-questions.md)  
  
## See Also  
 [Concepts](../mfc/mfc-concepts.md)   
 [General MFC Topics](../mfc/general-mfc-topics.md)   
 [CRuntimeClass Structure](../mfc/reference/cruntimeclass-structure.md)   
 [Files](../mfc/files-in-mfc.md)   
 [Serialization](../mfc/serialization-in-mfc.md)