Open source object database developer db4objects has announced that its Sharpen Java to C# source-code conversion tool is being made available as free software and released under the GNU General Public License (GPL). db4objects has used the tool extensively to generate most of the .NET db4o engine core code and unit test suites from Java sources.
Sharpen's features include:
- Mapping between Java and .NET native type systems
- Compliance with C# coding conventions
- User-defined namespace/class/method mappings
- Method to property mappings
- Generics support
- Partial conversions
- Mixing native and converted C# sources
- VS solution file support
- Ant integration
"Sharpen bridges the gap between our Java and .NET communities," said German Viscuso, db4objects'community manager. "We have been able to effectively receive source code contributions from both Java and .NET developers without having to worry about db4o versions being out of sync."
Rodrigo B. de Oliveira, technical lead architect at db4o, added that "The advantages of maintaining a single source code base cannot be underestimated. In the development cycle, multiple source bases inevitably start to diverge, and lead to duplicate efforts, and differences in features and quality between the platforms. Once a very challenging task, maintaining a unified code base, and in turn a unified community, now is truly possible."
