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R.E. van Leyden
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R.E. van Leyden asked on 04 Apr 2007, 08:05 AM
Since this converter is using the Sharpdevelop engine
What are the advantages in using this converter above the converter they already offer at:

http://codeconverter.sharpdevelop.net/Convert.aspx

Which also has a webservice so that people can use it easily in their apps / widgets ?

Or will this converter have it's own codebase / enhancements ?

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Vladimir Milev
Telerik team
answered on 04 Apr 2007, 09:57 AM
Hello R.E. van Leyden,

Thanks for your interest in the code converter!

Currently, we also offer a Yahoo/Google Widget, which you can add to your home page or use on your desktop.
We are planning on extending our offering in the future even further.

All the best,
Vladimir Milev
the telerik team

Instantly find answers to your questions at the new telerik Support Center
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Johan
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answered on 04 Apr 2007, 10:07 AM
The added vallue could also be awareness of the existence of such a tool. It is a common question in telerik's forums how to convert C# code (which seems to be preferred by telerik client-service personnel) to VB.NET, so having this in the same community might be useful. It seems that awareness that code conversion tools exist and are working relatively well is not that common. Additional benefit - hosting resources. If this converter turns out to be popular, telerik will be responsible for handling the resources needed to support it.

Other than that, the converter runs relatively well. There are code snippets now and there which it is not able to convert and when this happens I resort to this converter by Alex Lowe on aspalliance.com - it never failed to convert anything yet and there are often useful comments on code structure in the converted code. The UI is a bit awkward, but the engine works fine.

http://authors.aspalliance.com/aldotnet/examples/translate.aspx
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Todd Anglin
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answered on 04 Apr 2007, 01:56 PM
R.E.-

In complete truth, I had never seen SharpDevelop's online converter before I started this project. If your Google "convert C# to VB", SharpDevelop's converter does not show up in the first 5 pages of results. I think there are a lot of people who are simply unaware the SharpDevelop's service exists.

Now, granted, Code Converter is not yet in the top Google listings, but we're actively working on changing that.

Beyond that, Code Converter does a few things SharpDevelops does not:
  • We enable you to convert code snippets
    (On SharpDevelop's converter, you must enter code fully wrapped in methods and classes. We do some "magic" to try to convert your incomplete snippets with incomplete code.)
  • We use Ajax for all conversions
  • We use cookies to remember your settings from previous visits
  • We enable the Tab key in the code entry box to make it easy to format code if you typing it in the browser
  • We provide a very basic UI that does not clutter the conversion process
  • We offer widgets with the same "magic" conversion support for convenient access to the service on your desktop
  • We have a a dedicated forum for the converter :)
    (SharpDevelop's forum is for all SharpDevelop issues)
This question reminded me that I need to blog about the difference between the major online converters, so I'll try to that this week. Hopefully you can see how we're trying to build on NRefactory (formerly SharpRefactory) and provide a superior experience.

Thanks~
Todd
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R.E. van Leyden
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answered on 12 Apr 2007, 01:11 PM
Ok, cool :)

Are there any plans to support Boo as a language in your converter, since this is also included in the Sharpdevelop converter engine ?

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Todd Anglin
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answered on 12 Apr 2007, 01:57 PM
R.E.-

Not in the immediate future. The Boo converter on SharpDevelop's site is not part of the NRefactory engine we're using to perform the conversions. Rather its an implementation by SharpDevelop guru Daniel Grunwald.

If the demand is high for this feature, though, we will look in to using SharpDevelop's web service to offer limited Boo support. It's also important to note that the Boo converter on SharpDevelop's site only converts from VB/C# to Boo. It does not convert in both directions.

As always, thanks for the feedback~
Todd
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Todd Anglin
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answered on 12 Apr 2007, 05:36 PM
All-

There is now an online comparison of Code Converter to other major (free) online converters. Check it out here and feel free to share your feedback:

http://converter.telerik.com/compare.aspx

Thanks~
Todd
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R.E. van Leyden
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answered on 17 Apr 2007, 02:17 PM
Just had a look at the list, looks impressive :)

You might want to mention that the sharpdevelop converter has a (free)webservice available, don't know if any of the others have that, I would imagine they don't.

Also a strange thing in converting:
C#:
int i;
i = i++;

Becomes:
Dim i As Integer
i = System.Math.Max(System.Threading.Interlocked.Increment(i),i - 1)

instead of: i += 1

This probably isn't something you are responsible for.
Btw maybe my instead option is not a correct translation because of the difference between:
++i and i++


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R.E. van Leyden
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answered on 17 Apr 2007, 02:19 PM
Regarding Boo:

Ok didn't know that it was seperate from the Nrefactory engine, nor did I see that it was one way.

Figured it would be an easy win for an almost free gain in functionality.
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Todd Anglin
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answered on 18 Apr 2007, 07:16 AM
R.E.-

Thanks for the additional feedback. If there is more interest in adding Boo support I'll definitely try to integrate the SharpDevelop WebService.

Thanks~
Todd
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Vladimir Milev
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Johan
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Todd Anglin
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R.E. van Leyden
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