What is the best C# to VB.net converter? [closed] - c#

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While searching the interweb for a solution for my VB.net problems I often find helpful articles on a specific topic, but the code is C#. That is no big problem but it cost some time to convert it to VB manually.
There are some sites that offer code converters from C# to VB and vice versa, but to fix all the flaws after the code-conversion is nearly as time-consuming as doing it by myself in the first place.
Till now I am using http://labs.developerfusion.co.uk/convert/csharp-to-vb.aspx
Do you know something better?

Telerik has a good converter that is based on SharpDevelop that has worked pretty well over the years, though it has not been updated in years (due to it being based on SharpDevelop).
I've recently come across a roslyn based converter as well. I don't know how well it works or how well maintained it is, but as it's open source you can always fork it and update it as needed.

If you cannot find a good converter, you could always compile the c# code and use the dissasembler in Reflector to see Visual Basic code. Some of the variable names will change.

I currently use these two most often:
http://converter.telerik.com/
http://www.carlosag.net/tools/codetranslator/
But have also had some success with these others:
http://converter.atomproject.net/
http://www.dotnetspider.com/convert/Csharp-To-Vb.aspx
http://www.developerfusion.com/tools/convert/csharp-to-vb/

SharpDevelop has a built-in translator between C# and VB.NET. Is not perfect thought (e.g. the optional values in VB.NET doesn't have an equivalent in C#, so the signature of the converter method must be edited), but you can save some time, as you are making all operations inside an IDE and not a webpage (copy C# code, paste, hit button, copy VB.NET code, paste on IDE :P )

I think the best thing to do is learn enough of the other language so that you can rewrite by hand, there's some quite difficult differences in certain aspects that I'm not sure a converter would handle very well. For example, compare my translation from C# to VB of the following:
public class FileSystemEventSubscription : EventSubscription
{
private FileSystemWatcher fileSystemWatcher;
public FileSystemEventSubscription(IComparable queueName,
Guid workflowInstanceId, FileSystemWatcher fileSystemWatcher) : base(queueName, workflowInstanceId)
{
this.fileSystemWatcher = fileSystemWatcher;
}
becomes
Public Class FileSystemEventSubscription
Inherits EventSubscription
Private myFileSystemWatcher As FileSystemWatcher
Public Sub New(ByVal QueueName As IComparable, ByVal WorkflowInstanceID As Guid, ByVal Watcher As FileSystemWatcher)
MyBase.New(QueueName, WorkflowInstanceID)
Me.myFileSystemWatcher = Watcher
End Sub
The C# is from the Custom Activity Framework sample, and I'm afraid I've lost the link to it. But it contains some nasty looking inheritance (from a VB point of view).

I am using a free Visual Studio 2012 plug-in named Language Convert
It works perfectly on 2010/2012, unfortunately isn't working at VS 2013 yet.
The conversion is not 100% accurate, but it is definitely very helpful, to launch for the first time it is a bit tricky, check before the image below :

Last I checked, SharpDevelop has one and it is open source too.

You can load your DLL or EXE into Redgate's (formerly Lutz Roeder's) .Net Reflector, select your method and then the desired language from the language combo. The code of the selected method will be displayed in the selected language.
I hope this helps.

You can try this one converter. There is functionality for C# to VB and VB to C#.
Hope this helps.

Carlos Aguilar Mares has had an online converter for about 40 forevers - Code Translator but I would agree that Reflector is the better answer.

While not answering your question, I will say that I have been in a similar position.
I realised that code samples in C# were awkward when I was really starting out in .NET, but a few weeks into my first project (after I grown more familiar with the .NET framework and VB.NET itself), I found that it was interesting and sometimes beneficial to have to reverse-engineer the C# code. Not just in terms of syntax, but also learning about the subtle differences in approach - it's useful to be open-minded in this respect.
I'm sticking with VB.NET as I learn more and more about the framework, but before long I'll dip my to into C# with the intention of becoming 'multi-lingual'.

Currently I use a plugin for VS2005 that I found on CodeProject (http://www.codeproject.com/KB/cs/Code_convert_add-in.aspx); it use an external service (http://www.carlosag.net/Tools/CodeTranslator/) to perform translation.
Occasionally, when I'm offline, I use a converter tool (http://www.kamalpatel.net/ConvertCSharp2VB.aspx).

The one at http://www.developerfusion.com/tools/convert/csharp-to-vb/ (new url) now supports .NET 3.5 syntax (thanks to the #develop guys once again), and will automatically copy the results to your clipboard :)

Related

Uncovering Mysterious CustomCommand Functionality

Here's my question, how does one "hack" the CustomCommand in Enterprise Architect's API to figure out what it's capabilities are? Here's what I'm currently using it for, which seems to be an accepted (by the community) and usable function:
repository.CustomCommand("Repository", "ImportRefData", xml);
I want to see what else I can do with it, namely some exporting of said reference data.
Also, while Sparx cannot officially support this functionality since it's undocumented, what are the odds that this command will stay functional with updated versions of EA, do they have a history of breaking illegal code like this?
Thanks,
Alex
The answer is: you can't. The few commands I documented were from postings on the Sparx forum. Eventually they originated from Sparx support itself. I remember having read from someone who knew about one of the commands asking for more info. But Sparx did not unveil more than was known. I tried to find the strings in the EXE but to no avail.
Since the function is there for quite some years and Sparx is very reluctant to substantial changes in the API it will likely not change. So it's save to use the function in future. IIRC Sparx itself recommended the use in certain cases. But only on the forum...

Convert VB.NET To C# [duplicate]

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Closed 11 years ago.
Possible Duplicate:
Convert VB.NET code to C#
Hey,
I'm looking for a powerfull tool who can convert & C# code to VB.NET or vice-versa.
I've tried some websites but they are not very good.
Any ideas ?
Thanks
I have used .Net Reflector. Just load the DLL and select the language C#, VB etc.
See http://reflector.red-gate.com/download.aspx
The two most popular ones are developerFusions and teleriks:
http://www.developerfusion.com/tools/convert/vb-to-csharp/
http://converter.telerik.com/
Sometimes you will have to hand convert certain parts of the converted code that the converters have trouble understanding but on the whole they do a large part of the heavy lifting for you.
One example is that vb.net uses array indexes as () whereas c# uses []. For some reason I have seen the developerFusion get confused and leave these as () in the c# code which confuses the compiler.
I mostly use this for quick translations of code when I am answering forum questions and the op has specifically requested a vb.net answer. I just find it easier to code it in c# and then convert it.
If you have a very large project then you might find it tedious to convert each of the individual pages. In this case you might (I haven't actually tested this) find a way to convert the code more quickly by using the #develop IDE. I only say this as the developerFusion online converter is actually powered by code from this tool.
http://www.icsharpcode.net/OpenSource/SD/
Another thing to remember, as has been mentioned elsewhere in this thread, is that its entirely possible to mix and match languages within a single project. The only restriction to my knowledge is that you can only have one language per folder. This is to do with the way that the .net code is compiled. By default each folder is compiled into its own assembly.
If you really need to mix and match on the same page I think you could make a usercontrol to contain the code for one language and put it onto a different languages page.
You've both online- and offline solutions at your disposal.
A very popular online converter: Developer Fusion's Converter
Reflector has for long been the most popular offline source inspector. It allows you to view any assembly in the language of your choice. However, recently they changed and it is now no longer free.

Looking for a C# code parser [closed]

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I'm looking for a set of classes (preferably in the .net framework) that will parse C# code and return a list of functions with parameters, classes with their methods, properties etc. Ideally it would provide all that's needed to build my own intellisense.
I have a feeling something like this should be in the .net framework, given all the reflection stuff they offer, but if not then an open source alternative is good enough.
What I'm trying to build is basically something like Snippet Compiler, but with a twist. I'm trying to figure out how to get the code dom first.
I tried googling for this but I'm not sure what the correct term for this is so I came up empty.
Edit: Since I'm looking to use this for intellisense-like processing, actually compiling the code won't work since it will most likely be incomplete. Sorry I should have mentioned that first.
While .NET's CodeDom namespace provides the basic API for code language parsers, they are not implemented. Visual Studio does this through its own language services. These are not available in the redistributable framework.
You could either...
Compile the code then use reflection on the resulting assembly
Look at something like the Mono C# compiler which creates these syntax trees. It won't be a high-level API like CodeDom but maybe you can work with it.
There may be something on CodePlex or a similar site.
UPDATE
See this related post. Parser for C#
If you need it to work on incomplete code, or code with errors in it, then I believe you're pretty much on your own (that is, you won't be able to use the CSharpCodeCompiler class or anything like that).
There's tools like ReSharper which does its own parsing, but that's prorietary. You might be able to start with the Mono compiler, but in my experience, writing a parser that works on incomplete code is a whole different ballgame to writing one that's just supposed to spit out errors on incomplete code.
If you just need the names of classes and methods (metadata, basically) then you might be able to do the parsing "by hand", but I guess it depends on how accurate you need the results to be.
Mono project GMCS compiler contains a pretty reusable parser for C#4.0. And, it is relatively easy to write your own parser which will suite your specific needs. For example, you can reuse this: http://antlrcsharp.codeplex.com/
Have a look at CSharpCodeCompiler in Microsoft.CSharp namespace. You can compile using CSharpCodeCompiler and access the result assembly using CompilerResults.CompiledAssembly. Off that assembly you will be able to get the types and off the type you can get all property and method information using reflection.
The performance will be pretty average as you will need to compile all the source code whenever something changes. I am not aware of any methods that will let you incrementatlly compile snippets of code.
Have you tried using the Microsoft.CSharp.CSharpCodeProvider class? This is a full C# code provider that supports CodeDom. You would simply need to call .Parse() on a text stream, and you get a CodeCompileUnit back.
var codeStream = new StringReader(code);
var codeProvider = new CSharpCodeProvider();
var compileUnit = codeProvider.Parse(codeStream);
// compileUnit contains your code dom
Well, seeing as the above does not work (I just tested it), the following article might be of interest. I bookmarked it a good long time ago, so I believe it only supports C# 2.0, but it might still be worth it:
Generate Code-DOMs directly from C# or VB.NET
It might be a bit late for Blindy, but I recently released a C# parser that would be perfect for this sort of thing, as it's designed to handle code fragments and retains comments:
C# Parser and CodeDOM
It handles C# 4.0 and also the new 'async' feature. It's commercial, but is a small fraction of the cost of other commercial compilers.
I really think few people realize just how difficult parsing C# has become, especially if you need to resolve symbolic references properly (which is usually required, unless maybe you're just doing formatting). Just try to read and fully understand the Type Inference section of the 500+ page language specification. Then, meditate on the fact that the spec is not actually fully correct (as mentioned by Eric Lippert himself).

What should I know about C# before walking into an interview for a .NET job? [duplicate]

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Questions every good .NET developer should be able to answer? [closed]
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Sure, we all have written tons of C# code. So walking into an interview for a .NET job should be a no-brainer, right? And then you read some stackoverflow posts and it hits you: You don't know squat!
Remember that site with the cram sessions to go through, before taking an exam? I think stackoverflow could be used to make a sorted (voting) list of topics to know about.
Please only put one topic per post.
Please also add some information about the topic. Links, reference material etc.
EDIT: I guess some of you misunderstood the reason for the post - I'm hoping to generate a list of stuff to know about .NET, a sort of cram session that can be reviewed by everyone on the planet to regularly review. This should help us all remember arcane stuff we never really use.
They are likely going to ask you questions that are based more on Object Oriented Design and Programming more than questions that are explicitly geared towards C#. So if you can explain abstraction, polymorphism, interfaces, etc. You should be good to go.
Reference vs value types.
Know your delegates. Every .Net interview I've been on has asked me about delegates. Know why they exist, know how to declare them, and how to consume them, understand what multicast delegate is. Understand how to use a multicast delegate when one of the handlers throws an exception. Know what the compiler does with a delegate. Understand how delegates can give you "automatic" asynchronous APIs. Get familiar with the newer more convenient generic delegates - Action and Func.
Bonus: delegates vs events. What are the differences? When would you use one over the other?
Generics.
(also - don't try to cram and pass yourself off as an expert on something. A good interviewer will figure that out very, very quickly.)
I don't see how this question is valuable to your situation. The result of this question is going to be 30 posts listing features of the C# language.
I think you need to refine your question by giving us a hint about what type of job you are applying for. Or your skill set level or what areas your familiar with. Otherwise this post won't really contain a valuable answer.
EDIT
[OP] That (30 posts listing features of the C# language) is precisely what I am after
Then I suggest the C# language spec. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vcsharp/aa336809.aspx
ScottHa has two great lists of interview questions:
ASP.NET Interview Questions
What Great .NET Developers Ought To Know
Reflection. and the power of custom attributes in reflection.
Stack vs Heap: What goes where, what caused a StackOverflowException and what causes an OutOfMemoryException.
Generics, why generic lists are prefered rather then arraylist or hashtable. Performance issues and strongly typed added by the way.
Bonus: benefits of generic non-collection types. Why would one use these? How?
I hope the job interview is about coding itself. c# is just a syntax of programming. To be sure read about some specific C# things like reference vs value types
I'd start by looking at the latest c# enhancements. Also, it really depends on what type of job it is as there are a lot of things an ASP.Net developer won't know about Winforms and vice versa.
Assuming asp.net, I've been asked the following in interviews over the past 18 months:
Page Life Cycle
Generics
Interfaces / basic OO design
SQL; e.g. joins, updates, inserts,
etc. Also, how to use DataReader and
sqlcommand.
LINQ syntax; not because anyone is really using this, rather because they read about it.
Web Services ( asmx and wcf )
basic html / css
Session strategies for single server
/ load balanced
Differences between gridview,
repeater, etc.
What I've found is that most .net "web" dev's don't know diddly about sql or html. If you can prove you know more than just how to "drag and drop" controls on a web form then you're already better than 90% of the guys you'll run into.
If you've been writing code in one discipline (.NET in this case) that long, you should have a pretty standard answer to the technical questions that you don't know:
Q: So, what do you know about [technobabble]
A: Well, I haven't used that particular aspect in my previous projects, however, I have a small Volkswagen full of on-line resources that I check for answers like that. In other words, if I don't know it, I know where I can learn about it.
Optional addendum: "And here's an example of me dooing just that when I had a project that required [technobabble-2]..."
You know, if you just plummet through the ECMA-334 specification you should be all set. That's the language... but in away, you'll still be limited by your knowledge of the framework and that's experience. Hard earned experience.
OOPS Concepts
ADO.NET
Session mgmt and Caching
SQL Server distributed transactions
management
New features in .NET 2.0

Is there an automatic code formatter for C#? [closed]

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In my work I deal mostly with C# code nowadays, with a sprinkle of java from time to time. What I absolutely love about Eclipse (and I know people using it daily love it even more) is a sophisticated code formatter, able to mould code into any coding standard one might imagine. Is there such a tool for C#? Visual Studio code formatting (Crtl+K, Crtl+D) is subpar and StyleCop only checks the source without fixing it.
My dream tool would run from console (for easy inclusion in automated builds or pre-commit hooks and for execution on Linux + Mono), have text-file based configuration easy to store in a project repository and a graphical rule editor with preview - just like the Eclipse Code Formatter does.
For Visual Studio, take a look at ReSharper. It's an awesome tool and a definite must-have. Versions after 4.0 have the code formatting and clean-up feature that you are looking for. There's also plugin integration with StyleCop, including formatting settings file.
You'll probably want Agent Smith plugin as well, for spell-checking the identifiers and comments. ReSharper supports per-solution formatting setting files, which can be checked into version control system and shared by the whole team. The keyboard shortcut for code cleanup is Ctrl + E, C.
In 'vanilla' Visual Studio, the current file can be automatically formatted with Ctrl + K, Ctrl + D, and Ctrl + K, Ctrl + F formats the selected text.
As for a runs-everywhere command line tool to be used with commit hooks, try NArrange. It's free, can process whole directories at once and runs on Mono as well as on Microsoft .NET.
Some people also use the Artistic Style command line tool, although it requires Perl and works better with C/C++ code than with C#.
The .NET Foundation just released their code formatting tool on GitHub
https://github.com/dotnet/codeformatter
It uses the Roslyn compiler services to parse project documents and convert them to their expected formatting conventions. They're applying this to some of the very old CLR code in order to make all the projects consistent.
Further to #Chris Karcher's answer - you can also automatically format the whole document by hitting Ctrl+K, Ctrl+D.
These formatting features work on a variety of file formats - it works wonders on ugly HTML.
Another option: NArrange;
free
console based (so good for commit hooks etc, but can still be used as an "External Tool" in VS)
flexible config file
For me, Ctrl + Shift + F maps to Find in Files. When I need to format code, I highlight it and hit Ctrl + K, Ctrl + F.
I understand this doesn't really address automated formatting. I just wanted to clarify for those who may not know this feature even exists in Visual Studio.
I've heard only good things about ReSharper. It's on my to-learn list.
http://www.sourceformat.com/
This tool is around (~30$). I tried it and it works nice (with multiple languages).
I like this tool the best because it doesn't check code file for correctness. I can post code snippets from the Internet and it will translate them correctly no matter if they are in missing parts of the code. Other tools I try complain in that cases. The tool can also be integrated easily into editors as it allows command line driving.
Other tools:
http://www.polystyle.com/index.jsp
http://astyle.sourceforge.net/ (open source)
Not directly, but I use the Agent Smith plugin for R# to do this. Unfortunately, R# isn't free.
Also take a look at Microsoft StyleCop
See this previous question:
Is there any tool for reformatting C# code?
Searching for [c#] astyle shows up some more previous questions too.
I haven't tried this (found it through Google). It might work. http://www.semdesigns.com/Products/Formatters/CSharpFormatter.html. It's fairly cheap at USD50, but a trial is not available.
Maybe you could be interested in this free Addin for Visual Studio 2010/2012.
Here is an open source code formatting tool which has amazing features
CodeMaid
If you want to do it online, have a freecodeformat.

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