Mash Up: Code Converter

rspercy65

4.83/5 (53 votes)

23 Apr 2013CPOL6 min read

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This is a code converter that uses two different DLL files from around the .NET community. New Ver. 2013 is available for download.

Before

After

Convert Projects Image

Fix Converted Project Files

Code Converter 2013

Introduction

This is a Code Converter that uses four different DLL files from around the .NET community. The DLL files I used are FastColoredTextBox.dll, ConversionWrapper.dll, ICSharpCode.NRefactory.dll, and rsp.ConVert.dll. I came up with this Idea mainly from the FastColoredTextBox. Then I discovered the VS Addin (CodeConvert), both can be found here on CodeProject. I use the same DLL that the VS add-in uses. The ICSharpCode.NRefactory DLL can be found at their website. FastColoredTextBox is used for the syntax coloring. CodeConvert is referenced and does just as it says. The ICSharpCode.NRefactory DLL accompanies the CodeConvert.dll file.

rspConVert.dll is a remake of Deniz Ezen's Econ.NetVert.Dll. I stripped out the asp.net part as I could not get it to work. I also re-edited some of his code to work with my program. I added Project Conversions and Post fix for the files of the project conversion.

Background

There are a lot of code converters out there, but, 99 percent of them are web-based and 1 or 2 are Visual Studio Addins. The addins, I must say, definitely have an advantage over the web-based converters and they probably have a slight advantage over this one also, but, you do not have to open Visual Studio and you do not have to keep switching back and forth between your app and the Internet. You can open any *.cs, or *.vb file and convert it, and then use it in Visual Studio at a later time if needed by saving it as a text file or a *.cs, *.vb file using NotePad++.

The Code

I cannot think of very much to write when the whole program consists of 79 lines of code without the whitespace, but I'll give it a try. CodeConvert.dll only converts *.cs and *.vb files. It doesn't do snippets, such as, subs or functions by themselves. Whole files only.

Now let's take a look at the code below.

buttonClearAllCode_Click
Here we set each TextBox to String.Empty.
buttonCopyCSharpCode_Click
Here we add the txtCSharp.Text to the Clipboard.
buttonCopyVBCode_Click
Here we add the txtVBnet.Text to the Clipboard.

buttonConvertCSharpToVB_Click

This is where all the work is done for converting C# to VB. In the CodeConversionHelper class in the ICSharpCode.NRefactory DLL, there are three functions that take care of the conversions. These are:

Public Shared Function ConvertCSharpToVB(ByVal sourceCode As String) As String
Public Shared Function ConvertVBToCSharp(ByVal sourceCode As String) As String
Private Shared Function GenerateCode(ByVal sourceCode As String, ByVal language As SupportedLanguage) As String

In the buttonConvertCSharpToVB_Click event, we call the function ConvertCSharpToVB(txtCSharp.Text). This, then calls the function GenerateCode(ByVal sourceCode As String, ByVal language As SupportedLanguage). The source code would be txtCSharp.Text and the supported language would be CSharp. The GenerateCode function, then calls on 6 more classes that are in the ICSharpCode.NRefactory dll which is indeed beyond the scope of this article. The GenerateCode source follows...

Private Shared Function GenerateCode(ByVal sourceCode As String, ByVal language As SupportedLanguage) As String
    Using parser As IParser = ParserFactory.CreateParser(language, New StringReader(sourceCode))
        parser.Parse
        If (parser.Errors.Count = 0) Then
            Dim visitor As IOutputAstVisitor
            Dim specials As IList(Of ISpecial) = New ISpecial(0  - 1) {}
            If (language = SupportedLanguage.CSharp) Then
                visitor = New VBNetOutputVisitor
            Else
                visitor = New CSharpOutputVisitor
            End If
            Using SpecialNodesInserter.Install(specials, visitor)
                parser.CompilationUnit.AcceptVisitor(visitor, Nothing)
            End Using
            Return visitor.Text
        End If
        Dim builder As New StringBuilder
        Return parser.Errors.ErrorOutput
    End Using
End Function

buttonConvertVBtoCSharp_Click
This is where all the work is done for converting VB to C#. It calls the same three functions as the buttonConvertCSharpToVB_Click event. Please see above.
OpenToolStripMenuItem_Click
When the OpenFileDialog appears, and we select a file to open, the program knows where to input the selected file. If it is a *.cs file it will be opened in the txtCSharp TextBox and the same for a *.vb file in the txtVBnet TextBox. First, the file gets read and then inserted.
frmConverter_FormClosing
Here we just Dispose of the TextBoxes.
frmConverter_Load
If the window is maximized or normal we set the SplitterDistance in in the center of the form.
frmConverter_SizeChanged
We do the same thing in this sub for the SplitterDistance, except we set panel1Collapsed to True when minimised. This stops an exception from being thrown. This meaning that the SplitterDistance cannot be (-1).

The whole program is pasted below:

Imports CodeConvert.ConversionLoader
Imports CodeConvert
Imports ICSharpCode.NRefactory
Imports System
Imports System.IO
Imports System.Text
Imports System.Environment
Imports FastColoredTextBoxNS

Public Class frmConverter

    Private Sub buttonClearAllCode_Click(sender As Object, _
	            e As System.EventArgs) Handles buttonClearAllCode.Click
        txtCSharp.Text = String.Empty
        txtVBnet.Text = String.Empty
    End Sub

    Private Sub buttonCopyCSharpCode_Click(sender As Object, _ 
	            e As System.EventArgs) Handles buttonCopyCSharpCode.Click
        My.Computer.Clipboard.SetText(txtCSharp.Text)
    End Sub

    Private Sub buttonCopyVBCode_Click(sender As Object, _
	            e As System.EventArgs) Handles buttonCopyVBCode.Click
        My.Computer.Clipboard.SetText(txtVBnet.Text)
    End Sub

    Private Sub buttonConvertCSharpToVB_Click(sender As Object, _
	            e As System.EventArgs) Handles buttonConvertCSharpToVB.Click
        Me.txtVBnet.Text = ConvertCSharpToVB(txtCSharp.Text)
        txtVBnet.Text &= vbCrLf & vbCrLf & "'Converted By: CodeConverter 2011 Conversion Utility!"
    End Sub

    Private Sub buttonConvertVBtoCSharp_Click(sender As Object, _
	            e As System.EventArgs) Handles buttonConvertVBtoCSharp.Click
        Me.txtCSharp.Text = ConvertVBToCSharp(txtVBnet.Text)
        txtCSharp.Text &= vbCrLf & vbCrLf & "//Converted By: CodeConverter 2011 Conversion Utility!"
    End Sub

    Private Sub OpenToolStripMenuItem_Click(sender As Object, _
	            e As System.EventArgs) Handles OpenToolStripMenuItem.Click
        Dim fName As String
        ofd.Filter = "C-Sharp Files (*.cs)|*.cs|VB Files (*.vb)|*.vb"

        If ofd.ShowDialog = Windows.Forms.DialogResult.OK Then
            fName = ofd.FileName

            If fName.EndsWith(".cs") Then
                txtCSharp.Language = Language.CSharp
                txtCSharp.Text = File.ReadAllText(fName)
                buttonConvertCSharpToVB.Enabled = True
                buttonConvertVBtoCSharp.Enabled = False
                buttonCopyVBCode.Enabled = True
                buttonCopyCSharpCode.Enabled = False
            Else
                txtVBnet.Text = File.ReadAllText(fName)
                txtVBnet.Language = Language.VB
                buttonConvertCSharpToVB.Enabled = False
                buttonConvertVBtoCSharp.Enabled = True
                buttonCopyVBCode.Enabled = False
                buttonCopyCSharpCode.Enabled = True
            End If
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub frmConverter_FormClosing(sender As Object, _
	            e As System.Windows.Forms.FormClosingEventArgs) Handles Me.FormClosing
        txtCSharp.Dispose()
        txtVBnet.Dispose()
    End Sub

    Private Sub frmConverter_Load(sender As Object, _
	            e As System.EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
        If Me.WindowState = FormWindowState.Maximized Then
            sc1.SplitterDistance = ((sc1.Width / 2) - (sc1.SplitterWidth / 2))
        Else
            sc1.SplitterDistance = ((sc1.Width / 2) - (sc1.SplitterWidth / 2))
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub frmConverter_SizeChanged(sender As Object, _
	            e As System.EventArgs) Handles Me.SizeChanged
        If Me.WindowState = FormWindowState.Maximized Then
            txtCSharp.BackgroundImageLayout = ImageLayout.Stretch
            txtVBnet.BackgroundImageLayout = ImageLayout.Stretch
            sc1.Panel1Collapsed = False
            sc1.SplitterDistance = ((sc1.Width / 2) - (sc1.SplitterWidth / 2))
        ElseIf Me.WindowState = FormWindowState.Minimized Then
            sc1.Panel1Collapsed = True
        Else
            txtCSharp.BackgroundImageLayout = ImageLayout.Center
            txtVBnet.BackgroundImageLayout = ImageLayout.Center
            sc1.Panel1Collapsed = False
            sc1.SplitterDistance = ((sc1.Width / 2) - (sc1.SplitterWidth / 2))
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub CloseToolStripMenuItem_Click(sender As System.Object, _
	            e As System.EventArgs) Handles CloseToolStripMenuItem.Click
        Application.Exit()
    End Sub
End Class

Not All Errors are Created Equal

Not all errors can be fixed right now. As with all man-made things nothing is 100% reliable. So for now we have todo this manually to the example that follows...for now.

Implements Interface
C# does not require adding the implement statement after the required subs or functions. For now this will have to be done manually in VBnet. C# also does not require the ( Handles ) statement, but it does display an Error message stating this fact when converting VB to C# and does the same for the Implements clauses.

AddHandler, AddressOf....Updated

In C#, an Addhandler Statement looks something like this... ( Sub.Event += New(SomeTypeOfEventArgs)Sub_Event ) When Converting from C#, this is probably seen as an addition. After fiddling around with Expresso, I finally came up with a regex string that finds the C# code Sub.Event += New(SomeTypeOfEventArgs)Sub_Event. Here is how we fix the AddHandler, AddressOf statement in VB from C# that has been eluding all code converters until now.

Private Sub VBFixIt()

    'Not all errors can be fixed right now. As with all man-made things
    'nothing is 100% reliable.
	'I am trying to add all the toolbox components EventArgs to this area.
	'This will be updated on a regular basis.
	 
	Dim m As Match
    Dim strMatch As String
    Dim txtVBNetText As String = txtVBnet.Text
    lblStatus4.Text = "Please Wait...Conversion Started!!!"

    'Some of the thirty+ fixes that need to be attended too.
    Dim regexStr As String = "\b\w+.+=\sNew\s\w+\(\w+_\w+\)"                        'AddHandler

    Dim remregexStr As String = "\b\w+.-=\sNew\s\w+\(\w+_\w+\)"                     'RemoveHandler

    Dim patternIsInteger As String = "\bAs\sObject\s\=\s(\d+.|\w+.SelectedIndex)"   'Integer

    Dim patternClass As String = "\bAs\sObject\s\=\sNew\s\w+\(\)"                   'Class

    Dim patternTryCast As String = "\bAs\sObject\s\=\sTryCast\(e.Argument\,\s\w+\)" 'TryCast

    'The more common System.Events fixes
    Dim patternSystemEventArgs As String = "\b\w+_(AcceptsTabChanged|AutoSizeChanged|" & _ 
              "BackColorChanged|BackgroundImageChanged|BackgroundImageLayoutChanged" _
              & "|BindingContextChanged|BorderStyleChanged|" & _ 
              "CausesValidationChanged|Click|ClientSizeChanged|ContextMenuChanged" _
              & "|ContextMenuStripChanged|CursorChanged|" & _ 
              "DataSourceChanged|DisplayMemberChanged|Disposed|DockChanged|DoubleClick|DragLeave" _
              & "|DropDown|DropDownClosed|DropDownStyleChanged|" & _ 
              "EnabledChanged|FormatInfoChanged|FormatStringChanged|FormattingEnabledChanged" _
              & "|Enter|FontChanged|ForeColorChanged|GotFocus|" & _ 
              "HandleCreated|HandleDestroyed|HideSelectionChanged|ImeModeChanged|Leave|LocationChanged" _
              & "|LostFocus|MarginChanged|MouseCaptureChanged|" & _ 
              "Move|ModifiedChanged|MultilineChanged|PaddingChanged|ParentChanged|RegionChanged" _
              & "|ReadOnlyChanged|Resize|RightToLeftChanged|" & _ 
              "SizeChanged|StyleChanged|SystemColorsChanged|TabIndexChanged" _
              & "|TabStopChanged|TextChanged|TextAlignChanged|" & _ 
              "Validated|VisibleChanged|ValueMemberChanged|Load|FormClosed|MouseEnter" _
              & "|MouseHover|MouseLeave|SelectionChangeCommitted|" & _ 
              "SelectedIndexChanged|SelectedItemChanged|SelectedValueChanged)" & _ 
              "\((ByVal\ssender\sAs\sObject\,\sByVal\se\sAs\s(EventArgs|" & _ 
              "System\.EventArgs)\)|sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\s(EventArgs|System\.EventArgs)\))"

    Dim patternComponentModelCancelEventArgs As String = "\b\w+_Validating\((ByVal\ssender\sAs\sObject\," & _ 
        "\sByVal\se\sAs\sSystem\.ComponentModel\.CancelEventArgs\)|" & _ 
        "sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\sSystem\.ComponentModel\.CancelEventArgs)\)"

    Dim patternMeasureItemEventArgs As String = "\b\w+_MeasureItem\((ByVal\" & _ 
        "ssender\sAs\sObject\,\sByVal\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\" & _ 
        ".MeasureItemEventArgs\)|sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\sSystem\" & _ 
        ".Windows\.Forms\.MeasureItemEventArgs)\)"

    Dim patternListControlConvertEventArgs As String = "\b\w+_Format\((ByVal\" & _ 
        "ssender\sAs\sObject\,\sByVal\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\." & _ 
        "ListControlConvertEventArgs\)|sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\sSystem\" & _ 
        ".Windows\.Forms\.ListControlConvertEventArgs)\)"

    Dim patternDrawItemEventArgs As String = "\b\w+_DrawItem\((ByVal\ssender" & _ 
        "\sAs\sObject\,\sByVal\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\.DrawItemEventArgs\)" & _ 
        "|sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\.DrawItemEventArgs)\)"

    Dim patternQueryPageSettingsEventArgs As String = "\b\w+_QueryPageSettings\" & _ 
        "((ByVal\ssender\sAs\sObject\,\sByVal\se\sAs\sSystem\.Drawing\.Printing\" & _ 
        ".QueryPageSettingsEventArgs\)|sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\sSystem\" & _ 
        ".Drawing\.Printing\.QueryPageSettingsEventArgs)\)"

    Dim patternPrintPageEventArgs As String = "\b\w+_PrintPage\((ByVal\" & _ 
        "ssender\sAs\sObject\,\sByVal\se\sAs\sSystem\.Drawing\.Printing\" & _ 
        ".PrintPageEventArgs\)|sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\sSystem\.Drawing\.Printing\.PrintPageEventArgs)\)"

    Dim patternPrintEventArgs As String = "\b\w+_(BeginPrint|EndPrint)\" & _ 
        "((ByVal\ssender\sAs\sObject\,\sByVal\se\sAs\sSystem\.Drawing\.Printing\" & _ 
        ".PrintEventArgs\)|sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\sSystem\.Drawing\.Printing\.PrintEventArgs)\)"

    Dim patternQueryAccessibilityHelpEventArgs As String = "\b\w+_QueryAccessibilityHelp\" & _ 
        "((ByVal\ssender\sAs\sObject\,\sByVal\se\sAs\sSystem.Windows.Forms." & _ 
        "QueryAccessibilityHelpEventArgs\)|sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\sSystem\" & _ 
        ".Windows\.Forms\.QueryAccessibilityHelpEventArgs)\)"

    Dim patternQueryContinueDragEventArgs As String = "\b\w+_QueryContinueDrag\" & _ 
        "((ByVal\ssender\sAs\sObject\,\sByVal\se\sAs\sSystem.Windows.Forms." & _ 
        "QueryContinueDragEventArgs\)|sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\sSystem\" & _ 
        ".Windows\.Forms\.QueryContinueDragEventArgs)\)"

    Dim patternCancelEventArgs As String = "\b\w+_Validating\((ByVal\ssender\" & _ 
        "sAs\sObject\,\sByVal\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\.CancelEventArgs\)|" & _ 
        "sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\.CancelEventArgs)\)"

    Dim patternFormClosingEventArgs As String = "\b\w+_FormClosing\((ByVal\ssender\" & _ 
        "sAs\sObject\,\sByVal\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\.FormClosingEventArgs\)" & _ 
        "|sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\.FormClosingEventArgs)\)"

    Dim patternPreviewKeyDownEventArgs As String = "\b\w+_PreviewKeyDown\((ByVal\" & _ 
        "ssender\sAs\sObject\,\sByVal\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\." & _ 
        "PreviewKeyDownEventArgs\)|sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\sSystem\" & _ 
        ".Windows\.Forms\.PreviewKeyDownEventArgs)\)"

    Dim patternPaintEventArgs As String = "\b\w+_Paint\((ByVal\ssender\" & _ 
        "sAs\sObject\,|sender\sAs\sObject\,)\s(ByVal\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\" & _ 
        ".Forms\.PaintEventArgs\)|e\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\.PaintEventArgs)\)"

    Dim patternLayoutEventArgs As String = "\b\w+_HelpRequested\((ByVal\ssender\" & _ 
        "sAs\sObject\,\sByVal\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\.LayoutEventArgs\)|" & _ 
        "sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\.LayoutEventArgs)\)"

    Dim patternControlAddedRemoved As String = "\b\w+_(ControlAdded|ControlRemoved)" & _ 
        "\((ByVal\ssender\sAs\sObject\,\sByVal\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\" & _ 
        ".ControlEventArgs\)|sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\.ControlEventArgs)\)"

    Dim patternChangeUICues As String = "\b\w+_ChangeUICues\((ByVal\ssender\sAs\" & _ 
        "sObject\,\sByVal\se\sAs\sSystem\.Window\s.Forms\.UICuesEventArgs\)|" & _ 
        "sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\.UICuesEventArgs)\)"

    Dim patternGiveFeedback As String = "\b\w+_GiveFeedback\((ByVal\ssender\sAs\" & _ 
        "sObject\,\sByVal\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\.GiveFeedbackEventArgs\)" & _ 
        "|sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\.GiveFeedbackEventArgs)\)"

    Dim patternHelpRequested As String = "\b\w+_HelpRequested\((ByVal\ssender\sAs\" & _ 
        "sObject\,\sByVal\shlpevent\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\.HelpEventArgs\)|" & _ 
        "sender\sAs\sObject\,\shlpevent\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\.HelpEventArgs)\)"

    Dim patternInvalidated As String = "\b\w+_Invalidated\((ByVal\ssender\sAs\" & _ 
        "sObject\,\sByVal\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\.InvalidateEventArgs\)" & _ 
        "|sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\.InvalidateEventArgs)\)"

    Dim patternCheckChanged As String = "\b\w+_CheckChanged\((ByVal\ssender\sAs\" & _ 
        "sObject\,\sByVal\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\.CheckChangedEventArgs\)" & _ 
        "|sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\.CheckChangedEventArgs)\)"

    Dim patternBackgroundWorker As String = "\b\w+_(DoWork|ProgressChanged|" & _ 
        "RunWorkerCompleted)\((ByVal\ssender\sAs\sObject\,\sByVal\se\sAs\sSystem\" & _ 
        ".ComponentModel\.(DoWorkEventArgs|ProgressChangedEventArgs|" & _ 
        "RunWorkerCompletedEventArgs)\)|sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\sSystem\" & _ 
        ".ComponentModel\.(DoWorkEventArgs|ProgressChangedEventArgs|RunWorkerCompletedEventArgs))\)"

    Dim patternMouseEventArgs As String = "\b\w+_(MouseUp|MouseDown|MouseMove)\" & _ 
        "((ByVal\ssender\sAs\sObject\,\sByVal\se\sAs\sMouseEventArgs\)|" & _ 
        "sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\sMouseEventArgs)\)"

    Dim patternKeysUpDown As String = "\b\w+_(KeyUp|KeyDown)\(ByVal\ssender\sAs\" & _ 
        "sObject\,\sByVal\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\.KeyEventArgs\)|" & _ 
        "sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\.KeyEventArgs\)"

    Dim patternKeyPress As String = "\b\w+_KeyPress\((ByVal\ssender\sAs\sObject\," & _ 
        "\sByVal\se\sAs\s(System\.Windows\.Forms\.KeyPressEventArgs|KeyPressEventArgs)" & _ 
        "\)|sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\s(System\.Windows\.Forms\" & _ 
        ".KeyPressEventArgs|KeyPressEventArgs))\)"

    Dim patternDragDropEnter As String = "\b\w+_(DragDrop|DragEnter)\((ByVal\" & _ 
        "ssender\sAs\sObject\,\sByVal\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\.DragEventArgs\)" & _ 
        "|sender\sAs\sObject\,\se\sAs\sSystem\.Windows\.Forms\.DragEventArgs)\)"
    
	'''Code Continues
End Sub

After using ICsharp.NRefactory.dll for the conversion, I do a POST conversion fix using regex strings to fix the currently converted VB code. I also added a lot of post fixes on this upgrade. I still have along way to go to finish the post fixes, I keep coding away at it. I'll eventually finish.!!!

If you do not have the apps and DLLs below, Please get them as you will need them. They are all free.

Points of Interest

History

Added some extra subs that do post fix on the current code. Removed the picture that is probably crushing a nerve in some or all who downloaded the app before. Sorry for that flub.

The VBFixIt Sub now has over 14,500 to 15,000 POST Conversion fixes using regex strings

Uploaded 09-26-2011
Uploaded 10-04-2011
Uploaded 04-03-2012
Uploaded 04-05-2012
Uploaded 04-08-2012
Uploaded 04-12-2012, Fixed some mental errors in the regex strings.
Uploaded 04-18-2012, Changed the UI a little and added more regex strings.

This is suppose to be the last update. It probably wont be. I have completed adding all the toolbox components EVENTARGS, about 15,000 of them and still adding as I find different ways C# programmers are writing certain pieces of code (AddHandler, RemoveHandler, BeginEnvoke, ...). If any C# programmers find different ways to write pieces of code, please e-mail me with you code attached so I can add it to the app. I hope you all will enjoy this application and hope it brings you's some very good use.

If there is anything in this article that sounds somewhat redundant, it probably is, so please do not leave a message stating this as I already know.

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)