ASP Classic Compiler 0.6.0 released. It can run FMStocks 1.0

I uploaded ASP Classic Compiler 0.6.0 to http://aspclassiccompiler.codeplex.com. We reached a small milestone: it can run Fitch and Mather Stocks 1.0 now. This is the first end-to-end example that we can run with ASP Classic Compiler. Our goal is to be able to run most of ASP classic applications under ASP.NET without modifications, but we actually need to make two minor modifications. Both cases are due to the difference between interpreter and compiler. With interpreter, you can have syntax error in dead code (unreached code); with compiler, the entire code has to be syntactically correct for the code to compile.

The first change is at t_head.asp line 71, we added "dim i". That is because we have undeclared variable when the option explicit is on. Since the procedure was never executed, the ASP interpreter never caught the error but we have to fix it for the ASP Classic Compiler.

The second change is at SellStockAction.asp line 17. We added  "dim m_strMainPrompt". Again, this is an undeclared variable. Since the “on error resume next” is on, the VBScript interpreter would actually skip over the syntactical errors but the code will never work correctly. For the compiler, “on error resume next” cannot trap compilation errors.

In addition, several pages use @Transaction declaration. They are ignored since we do not have Com+ transaction support at the page level. Transaction for objects in Com+ packages are supported. 

I have uploaded preconfigured FMStocks with web.config and .net DLLs to http://aspclassiccompiler.codeplex.com/Project/Download/FileDownload.aspx?DownloadId=98236. It is still necessary to register the COM objects and install the SQL database. Since the setup program was written for Windows 2000/SQL Server 2000, it does not work correctly for the later platforms. I will document how to install it in a later platform in a separate blog entry.

Here is the plan and call for action:

1. I will come out with some debugging aid in the next version. Trouble shooting both asp problem and the compiler problem without debugging aid is painful.
2. The parser is 90% done. If you use ASP Classic Compiler to run your application, I do want you to report all syntax errors so that I can fix them.
3. The code generator quality is at 60-70% level. I want you to hold on the report of runtime errors until I provide better debugging aid.
4. I will continue test ASP Classic Compiler using some open source samples/applications. Drop me a not if you have any suggestion.
5. I originally envision to have class support after the 1.0 release, but it looks like now that I will implement the Class feature before the 1.0 release.