Using C++ in Excel

[fatirishman53]

I have been learning C++ off and on for about a year now. I feel like I am finally starting to get a grasp of properly structuring my code to take advantage of encapsulation and modularity. However, due to grad school and the inevitable use of Excel, I am forced to use VBA. VBA is fine, for its purpose, but I find that my programs are much easier to organize in C++, especially when the programs need to evolve to include more features and/or calculations.

In one of my projects, a professor has asked me to accomplish a task which produces data and graphs in Excel using a form as an interface. This project will be used by and distributed to undergraduate students for the purpose of further understanding particular subject matter.

My question is this: is there a way to utilize C++ to control Excel as a replacement for VBA?

What I would like to do is be able to control userforms, spreadsheets, graphs, etc. using C++ rather than VBA. In addition to this, I would need to be able to distribute the final product to my professor and other students.

I realize that "googling" the subject matter will produce a wide array of results. But the picking the proper method and implementation is a bit daunting. If anyone could point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it. And if this task is, simply, too complicated for a novice to intermediate programmer, I take no offence. I just figured this would help me expand my knowledge of the C++ language and its areas of implementation.

Thanks in advance.