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C# Lua Parser / Analyser

first things first;
I am writing a little LUA-Ide in C#. The code execution is done by an Assembly named LuaInterface. The code-editing is done by a Scintilla-Port & the RAD / UI Interface is via the extensible IDesignSurfaceExt Visual Studio (one way code generation). File handling is provided by a little sql-lite-db used as a project-package-file.
So all in all i've got everything i need together...
The only problem unsolved is the parser / lexer for lua. I do not want to load & execute the code! I just want to parse the String containing the Lua code and get some information about it like function and global vars. I really don't want to write the parser completly myself... (I hate regex - I get the wrong all the time ^^)
Anybody got a link to a .net lua parser lying around?
Just to clarify - I only want to analyse the code at this point - I dont wnat to run it!
Thanks in advance!
Corelgott

Just for the record:
I went with a comibination of:
http://irony.codeplex.com/ - A Language implementation Kit that can be adapted to parse several languages. (Btw. this one got virtually no ducumentation what so ever... So code-comments no docs... but lots of fun...)
and a customized version of
http://luairony.codeplex.com/ - the Lua Syntax for irony (added some degree error tolerance)
But I gotta admin, both are pretty heavy stuff... and you kind of open up a box of new problems as well as lots of possibilities...
Cheers, Corelgott

This SO question's responses may be helpful.
Easiest way to parse a Lua datastructure in C# / .Net

Incomplete but:
http://luairony.codeplex.com/

This isn't quite what you're after, but maybe half of it can provide half the answer.
It converts Lua to C, by parsing the Lua to an AST. You could then extract the info you need from the AST. It's written in Lua, but you already know how to call that :)

Have look here: Lua recipes for LPeg
Maybe you can use one - otherwise I would look at using the extended BNF from the documentation.

Dynamic user control over variables (embedded language?)

I'm creating a piece of software (written in C#, will be a windows application) and I ran into this problem-
I've got a set of variables, and I need to allow the user to define a wide range of mathematical functions on those variables.
But my users don't necessarily have to have any prior knowledge about programming.
The options I've considered are:
Create some sort of GUI for defining the mathematical "functions". But that is very limiting.
Implement a very simple embedded language, that will offer flexibility while remaining relatively easy to understand. I looked at Lua, but the problem with that is that you pretty much need to have prior knowledge in programming. I was thinking about something more readable (somewhat similar to SQL), for example "assign 3 to X;"
Other ideas are welcome.
I'm basically looking for the best way to go here, under the assumption that my users don't have any knowledge in programming.
However, note that this is not the main feature of my software, so I'm assuming that if a user wants/needs to use this feature, he will take the time to look at the manual for a few minutes and learn how to do so, as long as it's not too complicated.
Thanks, Malki :)

What you want is a domain specific language. I see you've tried Lua and didn't find that acceptable--I'll assume that most pre-built scripting languages are out then.
Depending on your expected function complexity, I would recommend that you give a shot at implementing a small recursive-descent parser so that you can exactly specify your language. This way you can realize something like:
assign 3 to X
show sin(X * 5)
If this is a bit beyond what you're willing to do, you can get some parsing assistance from a library such as Irony; this will let you focus on using the abstract syntax tree rather than playing with tokenizing/lexing for some time.
If you want, you can even look at FLEE, which will parse and evaluate some pretty complex expressions right out of the gate.

ANTLR is a greate parser if you want to make your own language

Transitioning from C# to VB.NET

Any suggestions on how I should approach this? Thanks.

Take a look at this VB to C# Comparison chart for some of the syntax and keyword differences.

I have to do this often - and my biggest hang-up is the semi-colon. Never fails that my first few days of writing VB after a longer stint of C# coding, the VB compiler is always barking at me for putting a semi-colon on every line of VB code.
Other than that, it shouldn't be too painful. If you're fluent in C#, moving to VB might be stressful for the first few days, but after that you should be smooth sailing.
Code converter tools come in handy to help you remember/learn/re-learn all of those odd syntax differences that you forget easily. The one I normally turn to first is http://converter.telerik.com/ - and if that won't do the trick, a quick google search for code converters will turn up a handful of other good ones.
Another pain point that I've had in the past too is Snippets. Snippets in C# rock - but in VB rock a bit less. Get to know the differences between those and life will be much easier. (Come on VB team - get that enter key working like the C# snippet team has it...)

A good C# to VB.NET converter will help.

Aside from revulsion and horror I recommend (from experience - ugh) to just start. Build a simple app. The magic is in the experience. It doesn't make sense until you have spent lots of time trying to figure out why something doesn't work.

I went the other way (VB to C#) and found the syntax to be so similar that the transition was painless. I can now pretty much program in either platform – thanks a lot to the IDE intellisense.

Take advantage of the "With" statement! One of my favorite parts of VB.NET.

It's not as difficult as it seems at first. Took me about a month from going strictly C++\C# to VB to get comfortable.

If you are familiar with programing you should just have to learn the syntax...why would anyone want to go from C# to VB? who knows :)

My first question would be 'Why?'. I'd like to think that you can pretty much get the same thing done with either C# or VB.Net. Given that it's managed code, why not just leave them as they are?
Let's just assume you have your reasons :)
1) There are a couple of tools that will do this (see http://www.developerfusion.com/tools/convert/csharp-to-vb/ for a sample).
2) The other option is to manually convert the code, compile, fix errors, and repeat. Painful.

It's a pretty straight-forward thing, actually. VB.Net is a perfectly good (if, imo, verbose) language with most of the expressiveness you've grown accustomed to in C#. Just be aware that certain specific keywords are different and that you've got a different background culture and you'll do fine.

You can also use a tool like CodeRush from DevExpress (no affiliation). The short-cut keys for any operation are the same for both languages and will produce the correct output for the language.
For example: key combo "mv" yields:
In C#
public void MethodName ()
{
}
In VB
Public Sub MethodName()
End Sub

Use XML literals and marvel how resentful fellow C# programmers suddenly are.

There were some useful articles in Visual Studio magazine back in Jan 2008.
What C# developers should know about VB
And for completeness: what VB developers should know about C#

Setting my Display Resolution

I'm a C# developer and I have to change my display resolution regularly.
There are plenty of examples on how to read the current display resolutions:
SystemInformation.PrimaryMonitorSize
I found the ChangeDisplaySettingsEx Function
Is the only way to do this in C# is with PInvoke???
It seems odd to me that it is very easy to get this information out, but difficult to set it...

You'll have to make a PInvoke call to ChangedisplaySetting.
Here's a link that has some sample code, http://www.xtremedotnettalk.com/printthread.php?t=73184.

I also recommend that you check out Jared Parsons PInvoke Toolkit. You can download it here:
http://www.codeplex.com/clrinterop/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=14120
It makes adding pinvoke signatures to your code a breeze. It doesn't always pick the right interop types, but it's usually pretty close, and even if you have to make some changes its still usually quicker than translating everything by hand.

Simple answer: Yes.
You should use PInvoke.

How to make a "Call stack diagram"

Creating a call stack diagram
We have just recently been thrown into a big project that requires us to get into the code (duh).
We are using different methods to get acquainted with it, breakpoints etc. However we found that one method is to make a call tree of the application, what is the easiest /fastest way to do this?
By code? Plugins? Manually?
The project is a C# Windows application.

With the static analyzer NDepend, you can obtain a static method call graph, like the one below. Disclaimer: I am one of the developers of the tool
For that you just need to export to the graph the result of a CQLinq code query:
Such a code query, can be generated actually for any method, thanks to the right-click menu illustrated below.

Whenever I start a new job (which is frequently as I am a contractor) I spend two to three days reading through every single source file in the repository, and keep notes against each class in a simple text file. It is quite laborious but it means that you get a really good idea how the project fits together and you have a trusty map when you need to find the class that does somethnig.
Altought I love UML/diagramming when starting a project I, personally, do not find them at all useful when examining existing code.

Not a direct answer to your question, but NDepend is a good tool to get a 100ft view of a codebase, and it enables you to drill down into the relationships between classes (and many other features)

Edit: I believe the Microsoft's CLR Profiler is capable of displaying a call tree for a running application. If that is not sufficient I have left the link I posted below in case you would like to start on a custom solution.
Here is a CodeProject article that might point you in the right direction:
The download offered here is a Visual
Studio 2008 C# project for a simple
utility to list user function call
trees in C# code.
This call tree lister seems to work OK
for my style of coding, but will
likely be unreliable for some other
styles of coding. It is offered here
with two thoughts: first, some
programmers may find it useful as is;
second, I would be appreciative if
someone who is up-to-speed on C#
parsing would upgrade it by
incorporating an accurate C# parser
and turn out an improved utility that
is reliable regardless of coding style
The source code is available for download - perhaps you can use this as a starting point for a custom solution.

You mean something like this: http://erik.doernenburg.com/2008/09/call-graph-visualisation-with-aspectj-and-dot/

Not to be a stuck record, but if I get it running and pause it a few times, and each time capture the call stack, that gives me a real good picture of the call structure that accounts for the most time. It doesn't give me the call structure for things that happen real fast, however.