C++ Excel Automation

i ve set a C++ program to interface with an open instance of excel. If i use
the code to retrieve data from an open excel workbook:

e.g
say i write
Excel::RangePtr pRange = XLS->GetRange(_bstr_t("A1"),_bstr_t("A10")); //XLS
pointer to Excel sheet

is there a function that will return the number of rows or columns of that
range? or how to use operators like +,- with pRange->Item[] or anything
equivalent. Is there a better function for retrieving this data and
performing such operations?
i know you can use XLS->Cells for the whole sheet but is there anything
better?

do you know of any good books or resources that give explanations of the
functions that can be used with RangePtrs??

Thanks for any help or advice you can give