# Paste & Convert C# Code to Mercury not handling properties correctly
**URL:** https://talk.remobjects.com/t/paste-convert-c-code-to-mercury-not-handling-properties-correctly/24946
**Category:** Water
**Tags:** mercury
**Created:** [June 17, 2021, 8:01pm UTC](https://talk.remobjects.com/t/paste-convert-c-code-to-mercury-not-handling-properties-correctly/24946 "2021-06-17T20:01:27Z")
**Posts on this page:** 13
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@avonelle](https://talk.remobjects.com/u/avonelle)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2021, 8:01pm UTC](https://talk.remobjects.com/t/paste-convert-c-code-to-mercury-not-handling-properties-correctly/24946/1 "2021-06-17T20:01:27Z")
Using Water (version 11.0.0.2637), I tried out the menu option Edit =\> Paste =\> Paste & convert C# code, and the resulting code doesn’t seem quite right in three areas related to property definitions. This C# code:
```auto
private string mString;
public string[] Test
{
get
{
return mString;
}
set
{
mString = value;
}
}
```
Yields this Mercury code:
```auto
Private Dim mString As String
Public Property Test As String()
Return Me.mString
End Get
Set
Me.mString = value
End Set
End Property
```
The things that look not quite right to me are:
- I think it should be just “Private mString as String”, not “Private Dim mString as String”.
- It is missing the initial “Get” statement,
- Shouldn’t “Set” instead be “Set (value as String)”? (I might be wrong about that, as Mercury might allow this syntax.)
–Avonelle
---
### Author:  [@mh](https://talk.remobjects.com/u/mh)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2021, 9:40pm UTC](https://talk.remobjects.com/t/paste-convert-c-code-to-mercury-not-handling-properties-correctly/24946/2 "2021-06-17T21:40:59Z")
> [@avonelle](#):
>
> - I think it should be just “Private mString as String”, not “Private Dim mString as String”.
That’s a matter of taste, surely?
> [@avonelle](#):
>
> It is missing the initial “Get” statement,
yep, we’ll fix
> [@avonelle](#):
>
> Shouldn’t “Set” instead be “Set (value as String)”? (I might be wrong about that, as Mercury might allow this syntax.)
Good Q, not sure. i believe “Value” is implied as name. i’ll check.
---
### Author:  [@mh](https://talk.remobjects.com/u/mh)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2021, 9:44pm UTC](https://talk.remobjects.com/t/paste-convert-c-code-to-mercury-not-handling-properties-correctly/24946/3 "2021-06-17T21:44:29Z")
> [@mh](#):
>
> > [@avonelle](#):
> >
> > It is missing the initial “Get” statement,
>
> yep, will fix
done.
---
### Author:  [@mh](https://talk.remobjects.com/u/mh)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2021, 9:45pm UTC](https://talk.remobjects.com/t/paste-convert-c-code-to-mercury-not-handling-properties-correctly/24946/4 "2021-06-17T21:45:44Z")
> [@avonelle](#):
>
> ```auto
> private string mString;
>
> public string[] Test
> {
> get
> {
> return mString;
> }
>
> ```
this wont compile though, right? even in C#. type mismatch, array vs single string…
---
### Author:  [@mh](https://talk.remobjects.com/u/mh)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2021, 9:46pm UTC](https://talk.remobjects.com/t/paste-convert-c-code-to-mercury-not-handling-properties-correctly/24946/5 "2021-06-17T21:46:18Z")
> [@mh](#):
>
> > [@avonelle](#):
> >
> > Shouldn’t “Set” instead be “Set (value as String)”? (I might be wrong about that, as Mercury might allow this syntax.)
>
> Good Q, not sure. i believe “Value” is implied as name. i’ll check.
this compiles:
```auto
Private Dim mString As String()
Public Property Test As String()
Get
Return Me.mString
End Get
Set
Me.mString = Value
End Set
End Property
```
so I won’t change the codegen for that, if thats ok,
---
### Author:  [@avonelle](https://talk.remobjects.com/u/avonelle)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2021, 10:01pm UTC](https://talk.remobjects.com/t/paste-convert-c-code-to-mercury-not-handling-properties-correctly/24946/6 "2021-06-17T22:01:27Z")
> [@mh](#):
>
> this wont compile though, right? even in C#. type mismatch, array vs single string…
Oh, duh, this is what happens you are trying to create a simple test example and it has already been a long week. Yep, should not have been an array, just a single string.
–Avonelle
---
### Author:  [@avonelle](https://talk.remobjects.com/u/avonelle)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2021, 10:04pm UTC](https://talk.remobjects.com/t/paste-convert-c-code-to-mercury-not-handling-properties-correctly/24946/7 "2021-06-17T22:04:28Z")
> [@mh](#):
>
> > [@avonelle](#):
> >
> > - I think it should be just “Private mString as String”, not “Private Dim mString as String”.
>
> That’s a matter of taste, surely?
If so, that is strange syntax to me. Usually it would either be “Private mString as String” or “Dim mString as String” but not “Private Dim mString as String”.
If I type “private dim mstring as string” into VS2019 w/o Mercury, it removes the “dim”.
–Avonelle
---
### Author:  [@mh](https://talk.remobjects.com/u/mh)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2021, 12:15pm UTC](https://talk.remobjects.com/t/paste-convert-c-code-to-mercury-not-handling-properties-correctly/24946/8 "2021-06-18T12:15:31Z")
> [@avonelle](#):
>
> If I type “private dim mstring as string” into VS2019 w/o Mercury, it removes the “dim”.
Curious.
---
### Author:  [@Theo69](https://talk.remobjects.com/u/Theo69)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2021, 12:26pm UTC](https://talk.remobjects.com/t/paste-convert-c-code-to-mercury-not-handling-properties-correctly/24946/9 "2021-06-18T12:26:32Z")
VB documentation:
It’s optional, and thus allowed.
But I agree that we, as VB programmers, always skip the DIM keyword when it is preceded by a modifier.
@mh I agree with avonell that this use of the DIM keyword feels kind of alien.
---
### Author:  [@avonelle](https://talk.remobjects.com/u/avonelle)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2021, 12:28pm UTC](https://talk.remobjects.com/t/paste-convert-c-code-to-mercury-not-handling-properties-correctly/24946/10 "2021-06-18T12:28:22Z")
> [@Theo69](#):
>
> It’s optional, and thus allowed.
Thanks for researching this. You’ve taught me something new!
–Avonelle
---
### Author:  [@mh](https://talk.remobjects.com/u/mh)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2021, 12:28pm UTC](https://talk.remobjects.com/t/paste-convert-c-code-to-mercury-not-handling-properties-correctly/24946/11 "2021-06-18T12:28:53Z")
I’ve changed CG4 to
```auto
vbGenerateMemberTypeVisibilityPrefix(field.Visibility)
vbGenerateStaticPrefix(field.Static && !type.Static)
if field.Constant {
Append("Const ")
} else {
if field.visibility == .Unspecified {
Append("Dim ")
}
}
```
---
### Author:  [@Theo69](https://talk.remobjects.com/u/Theo69)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2021, 12:39pm UTC](https://talk.remobjects.com/t/paste-convert-c-code-to-mercury-not-handling-properties-correctly/24946/12 "2021-06-18T12:39:27Z")
> [@avonelle](#):
>
> Shouldn’t “Set” instead be “Set (value as String)”? (I might be wrong about that, as Mercury might allow this syntax.)
Another optional thing - from the VB documentation:
---
### Author:  [@avonelle](https://talk.remobjects.com/u/avonelle)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2021, 2:05pm UTC](https://talk.remobjects.com/t/paste-convert-c-code-to-mercury-not-handling-properties-correctly/24946/13 "2021-06-18T14:05:29Z")
> [@Theo69](#):
>
> Another optional thing - from the VB documentation:
>
> 
Yeah, I recalled that it might be optional, but I was thinking it was a Mercury thing, not an optional VB thing. I’m certainly no expert on what is allowable [VB.NET](http://VB.NET) syntax - I guess I’ve fallen into a pattern on what works for me, and everything else looks strange to me!
The original code I was converting had lots of properties and most or all of them were missing the starting “Get” (and so it wouldn’t compile), so that’s what made me look closer. Probably if that wasn’t an issue, I wouldn’t have necessarily noticed/mentioned the other differences.
Thanks for the refresher!
–Avonelle