The BlueCielo Meridian Enterprise application programming interface (API) defines a set of distributed component object model (DCOM) interfaces and Microsoft .NET Framework interop assemblies that provide a powerful, structured, and supported method for accessing Meridian Enterprise data and extending the functionality of Meridian Enterprise. The COM API is accessible through Microsoft Visual Basic 6 or the .NET compatible languages using the user interface designer, type libraries, project templates, and form templates supplied in the Meridian Enterprise Developer Edition. The API can be used to create user interface extensions that can be deployed to Meridian Enterprise client computers to extend the capabilities of the Meridian Enterprise client applications. These interface extensions may be necessary to add functionality to an Meridian Enterprise system that is not possible to create through configuration with the Configurator application. The API can also be used to create special purpose stand-alone client applications that do not require the PowerUser client.