Internationalization and Localization Using Microsoft .Net

Internationalization and Localization Using Microsoft .NET is intended to be a comprehensive discussion of how to localize code using Visual Studio .NET. Author Nick Symmonds knows the advantages of preparing for localization in the design stage and the disadvantages of localizing a project after the fact, and he discusses both methods of localizing code in this book. All aspects of localization are examined, from handling date, time, and currency and text data to developing multilingual user interfaces and help files. He also covers Visual Studio’s localization features and tools in depth and presents the pros and cons of each to the reader.

Internationalization and Localization Using Microsoft .NET is unique in that it covers both C# and VB .NET—all examples are presented in both languages. This language-independent approach is essential given that large systems may use both languages, and the principals discussed can be applied to other .NET languages as well. Some of the core topics covered are as follows:

• The Globalization and Resources namespaces, which relate directly to localization
• Resource files and how they are used in .NET
• Visual and command-line tools that aid in localization
• In depth discussion of design and implementation of world-ready programs

Also included is a comprehensive example of a resource editor, with code provided in both C# and VB .NET. This project is not only useful as product in itself, but it’s also instructive in how to write fairly complicated code in both .NET languages.

Contents

• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Localization concepts
• Chapter 2: Localization aspects
• Chapter 3: Resource files in VB6
• Chapter 4: System.Globalization namespace
• Chapter 5: System.Resources namespace
• Chapter 6: Resource File Tools
• Chapter 7: Creating a resource editor in C# and VB .NET
• Chapter 8: Localizing your new resource editor
• Chapter 9: An ASP.NET example designed with localization from the start
• Chapter 10: Resource file versioning in .NET
• Chapter 11: The software development plan
• Index