Decompiling vb.net application

Question

    [CompilerGenerated]
    [DebuggerBrowsable(DebuggerBrowsableState.Never)]
    [AccessedThroughProperty("SimpleButton1")]
    private SimpleButton _SimpleButton1;
internal virtual SimpleButton SimpleButton1
    {
        [CompilerGenerated]
        get
        {
            return this._SimpleButton1;
        }
        [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.Synchronized)]
        [CompilerGenerated]
        set
        {
            EventHandler value2;
            value2 = SimpleButton1_Click;
            SimpleButton simpleButton;
            simpleButton = this._SimpleButton1;
            if (simpleButton != null)
            {
                simpleButton.Click -= value2;
            }
            this._SimpleButton1 = value;
            simpleButton = this._SimpleButton1;
            if (simpleButton != null)
            {
                simpleButton.Click += value2;
            }
        }
    }

When i decompile an vb.net application using ilspy, dnspy, just decompile, reflector, etc.

all the decompilers decompiles events in this format. so i cannot open the designer file. is there any other way to decompile properly?

Answer 1

What you are seeing is the code that the VB compiler generates for the Sub X() Handles Field.Event syntax. The VB forms designer supports the Handles syntax, but the C# forms designer does not have any direct equivalent. In C#, event handlers are typically registered directly in the InitializeComponent method, and do not automatically de/re-register when writing to the field.

To get the designer working, you would need to:

• verify that the property is only set inside InitializeComponent, not somewhere else
• move the SimpleButton.Click += SimpleButton1_Click; into the InitializeComponent, e.g. so that it directly follows the SimpleButton = new Button() property assignment.
• if the designer is picky, you may need to explicitly new the eventhandler type with a fully-qualified type name: SimpleButton.Click += new System.EventHandler(SimpleButton1_Click);
• delete the property and remove the leading underscore from the field name

I am not aware of any tools that would automate these steps.

Turning off the C# 2.0 feature "Use implicit method group conversions" in the decompiler settings can help with the new EventHandler portion.