VB6 to C# Converter Project

A comprehensive toolkit for converting Visual Basic 6 applications to modern C# and migrating Classic ASP to Angular/.NET Core.

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📋 Project Status

This is an in-progress conversion framework. See ProjectPlan.md for detailed roadmap and priorities.

Current validated status:

• the solution builds successfully on .NET 8
• tests/BLML.Tests currently passes 48/49 tests
• 1 test is intentionally skipped for the isolated vb6binary.cs compatibility path
• active partial implementation currently spans Phase1, Phase3, Phase4, Phase6, and Phase7
• Phase5 and most of Phase8 remain prototype or planning surfaces rather than finished projects

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🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• .NET 8 SDK
• Visual Studio 2022 or VS Code
• Git
• PowerShell 7+ (for automation scripts)

Reorganize Repository (First Time Setup)

# Run a dry run first to see what will happen
.\reorganize-repo.ps1 -DryRun

# Perform actual reorganization
.\reorganize-repo.ps1

# Or reorganize without using git mv (if you haven't committed yet)
.\reorganize-repo.ps1 -UseGitMv:$false

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📁 Repository Structure

After reorganization, the repository follows this structure:

blml-a8/
├── docs/                    # All documentation
│   ├── Reference/          # VB6 language reference
│   ├── Migration/          # Migration guides
│   ├── Training/           # LLM training data
│   └── Lists/              # Keyword/control lists
├── src/
│   ├── Phase1-Foundation/  # Parser, lexer, AST
│   ├── Phase2-CoreLanguage/# Code generation, converters
│   ├── Phase3-FormsUI/     # Form parsing and conversion
│   ├── Phase4-DataAccess/  # Database migration
│   ├── Phase5-ASPtoAngular/# ASP to modern web stack
│   ├── Phase6-Advanced/    # COM, collections, etc.
│   ├── Phase7-Optimization/# Code cleanup and polish
│   └── Phase8-Tooling/     # IDE support, CLI
├── tests/                  # Unit and integration tests
├── tools/                  # Utility scripts
├── samples/                # Example VB6 code
└── AngularTutor/          # Separate Angular tutorial project

See REORGANIZATION.md for complete details.

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📚 Key Documents

Document	Purpose
ProjectPlan.md	Complete task list organized by priority
REORGANIZATION.md	File organization guide
reorganize-repo.ps1	Automation script for restructuring

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🎯 Project Goals

1. VB6 → C# Conversion

Convert Visual Basic 6 desktop applications to modern C# with Windows Forms or WPF.

Key Features:

• Full VB6 syntax parsing
• Form and control conversion
• Database access modernization
• COM interop handling

2. Classic ASP → Angular + .NET Core

Migrate classic ASP applications to modern web stack.

Target Architecture:

• Frontend: Angular 20 + Angular Material
• Backend: .NET Core 8 Web API
• Database: SQL Server with Entity Framework Core

3. Access → Web

Convert Microsoft Access applications to web-based solutions.

Components:

• Schema migration to SQL Server
• Forms to Razor Pages or Blazor
• Reports to web reports
• Queries to stored procedures

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🔧 Current Capabilities

✅ Implemented

• Basic VB6 lexical analysis
• Partial VB6 parser
• Form (.frm) file parsing
• Roslyn-based C# code generation for the active transpiler path
• Access database extraction
• Some control mapping
• Phase6 property procedure conversion and optional/default parameter emission
• Phase7 XML documentation, dead-code cleanup, and LINQ suggestion helpers

🚧 In Progress

• Complete VB6 grammar and semantic coverage
• Symbol table and type inference
• AST builder
• richer form, data, and advanced-feature conversion coverage

📝 Planned

• ASP parser
• Angular component generator
• .NET Core API generator
• EF Core scaffolding
• Complete test suite

See ProjectPlan.md for detailed breakdown.

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🏗️ Development Phases

Phase	Status	Priority	Timeline
Phase 1: Foundation	🟡 Active foundation slice with remaining integration work documented	CRITICAL	Weeks 1-4
Phase 2: Core Language	🟡 Focused error-handling slice active; remaining work documented	HIGH	Weeks 5-8
Phase 3: Forms & UI	🟡 Partially implemented and tested	HIGH	Weeks 9-12
Phase 4: Data Access	🟡 Partially implemented	HIGH	Weeks 9-12
Phase 5: ASP to Angular	🟠 Prototype-only assets	HIGH	Weeks 13-20
Phase 6: Advanced Features	🟡 First implementation slice active	MEDIUM	Weeks 21-24
Phase 7: Optimization	🟡 Multiple helper slices active	MEDIUM	Weeks 25-26
Phase 8: Tooling	🟠 Documentation, stubs, and prototypes	LOW	Ongoing

For phase-specific remaining work, see:

• Phase 1 README
• Phase 2 README
• Phase 3 README
• Phase 4 README
• Phase 5 README
• Phase 6 README
• Phase 7 README

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💻 Usage Examples

Convert a VB6 Project (Planned)

# Using CLI (not yet implemented)
vb6convert --input MyProject.vbp --output ./CSharp/MyProject

# Using library
var converter = new VB6Converter();
var result = converter.ConvertProject("MyProject.vbp");

Convert Classic ASP to Angular (Planned)

# Analyze ASP application
asp2angular analyze --input ./AspApp --output ./analysis.json

# Generate Angular + API
asp2angular generate --input ./AspApp --output ./ModernApp

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🧪 Testing

# Run unit tests
dotnet test tests/Unit/

# Run integration tests
dotnet test tests/Integration/

# Run all tests
dotnet test

Current test status

The current tests/BLML.Tests project is in a healthy state.

• 48/49 tests pass
• 1 test is intentionally skipped
• the solution builds successfully
• the parser and transpiler tests called out earlier are now passing

Remaining known test gap

• Phase3FormsUiTodoTests.Vb6BinaryCompatibilityLayer_ShouldSupportBinaryRecordAccessInDedicatedCompatibilityProject is still skipped
• that skip is intentional because src/Phase3-FormsUI/FormParsing/vb6binary.cs remains isolated until a dedicated compatibility project restores its VB runtime dependencies

Next test-focused follow-up

• create the dedicated compatibility project for vb6binary.cs if binary VB6 record access is still required
• add broader fixture-based coverage for end-to-end conversion scenarios across phases
• keep README status synchronized with the actual build and test state

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📖 Documentation

Reference Documentation

• VB6 Keywords
• VB6 Controls & Functions
• VB6 Properties Reference

Migration Guides

• Access to Razor Pages
• EF Core and Razor
• React vs Razor
• Razor without EF

Technical Documents

• RFC-DCLR
• Realtime Requirements
• LLM Training Dataset

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🤝 Contributing

This project is under active development. Contributions are welcome!

How to Contribute

1. Check ProjectPlan.md for tasks
2. Pick a task from an active phase
3. Create a feature branch
4. Implement with tests
5. Submit a pull request

Development Workflow

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/TronsGuitar/blml-a8.git
cd blml-a8

# Reorganize (first time only)
.\reorganize-repo.ps1

# Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/my-feature

# Make changes
# ...

# Run tests
dotnet test

# Commit and push
git add .
git commit -m "Add feature X"
git push origin feature/my-feature

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🛠️ Tools and Scripts

PowerShell Scripts

• reorganize-repo.ps1 - Reorganize repository structure
• accdb2sql.ps1 - Convert Access to SQL Server
• acesss2razor.ps1 - Generate Razor pages from Access
• zippr.ps1 - Archive utilities

Python Scripts

• vb6frm2csharpfrmx.py - Form converter
• generatetests.py - Test generator
• searchText.py - Code search utility

SQL Scripts

• SqlServerRunPSJob.sql - SQL Server job integration

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📊 Project Metrics

Code Statistics (Estimated)

• Total Files: ~100
• C# Files: ~85
• Documentation: ~25 MD files
• Scripts: ~10 PS1/PY/SQL files

Completion Status

• Foundation: active and partially implemented
• Core Features: still incomplete
• Forms: partially implemented with test coverage
• Data Access: partially implemented
• ASP Migration: prototype stage
• Advanced: first slice implemented
• Optimization: active helper slice implemented
• Tooling: planning and stub stage

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🗺️ Technology Stack

VB6 → C# Conversion

• .NET 8 - Target framework
• Roslyn - Code generation
• CodeDom - Legacy code generation (being replaced)
• Windows Forms - UI framework
• ADO.NET / EF Core - Data access

ASP → Modern Web

• Angular 20 - Frontend framework
• Angular Material - UI components
• TypeScript - Frontend language
• .NET Core 8 - Backend API
• Entity Framework Core - ORM
• SQL Server - Database

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✅ Final TODO List

1. finish Phase2-CoreLanguage code-generation and conversion coverage beyond the current partial pipeline
2. expand Phase3-FormsUI form conversion, layout reconstruction, property mapping, resource conversion, and compatibility-project handling for vb6binary.cs
3. implement the remaining Phase4-DataAccess migration pipeline for schema extraction, entity generation, data migration, and ADO modernization
4. decide and execute the real Phase5-ASPtoAngular target architecture, then replace the current prototypes with an actual migration pipeline
5. extend Phase6-AdvancedFeatures into ParamArray, named arguments, enums, collections, COM interop, and broader advanced control support
6. broaden Phase7-Optimization into whole-project analysis, migration reporting, code metrics, and safer rewrite support
7. turn the Phase8-Tooling folders into actual projects for CLI, IDE/LSP, VS Code, and web-hosted tooling
8. add broader fixture-based tests, sample projects, and end-to-end validation across all phases
9. finish repository polish items such as project packaging, CI coverage, and the top-level license declaration

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📄 License

[Specify your license here]

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📞 Contact

For questions or support, please open an issue on GitHub.

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🙏 Acknowledgments

This project builds upon various open-source VB6 parsers and conversion tools. Special thanks to all contributors to the VB6 migration community.

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Note: This is an active development project. Features and structure may change as development progresses. Always refer to ProjectPlan.md for the most current roadmap.