Let me tell you a secret, I do not write my sample code in both C# and VB.NET. Despite the fact I started my programming venture learning BASIC back in my high-school days and went through several iterations of the language (Quick Basic, QBasic, VB, etc.), there is something about VB that gives me the creeps. I am not sure if it is the overwhelming, unnecessary verbosity, or if at some point in my career I, unwillingly, bought into the “real programmers write C++” kind of mentality; the truth is that I do not like VB, and there is no objectivity in that statement.
You may be wondering what do I do to provide the sample code in both C# and VB.NET. The answer is very simple. I use a great tool from 'developerFusion’ called “Convert C# to VB.NET”. This web-based tool allows you to paste C# code and convert it to VB.NET.
Every time Mr. Nick Zeeben (@nzeeb) says, “hey! your presentation is pretty cool! We should provide the code in both C# and VB.NET!”, I say “No problem Zeeb!”, and I bring my browser to do the translation. It saves me an immense amount of time and everyone wins.
The tool, it seems, also translates to Python and Ruby code. I have not tried these features because, unlike VB.NET, I do love Python, and I do not mind writing the code by hand. It occurs to me this tool can be very helpful for those wanting to learn a dynamic language.
I am sure there are plenty of tools like this, and you may have a favorite one. I’ll be honest, I haven’t tried them. Since I’ve found “Convert C# to VB.NET”, it has given me such good results, I have not research other possibilities. Try it if you are interested and let me know how it goes.
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