Internationalization and Localization Using Microsoft .NET [Paperback]

Nicholas Symmonds (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 27, 2002

"Internationalization and Localization Using Microsoft .NET" is intended to be a comprehensive discussion of how to localize code using Visual Studio .NET. Author Nick Symonds is an experienced developer and project manager of Windows applications intended for use worldwide. Symmonds knows the advantages of localization in the design stage and the disadvantages of localizing a project after the fact. Both methods of localizing code are discussed in this book. VS .NET has quite a few tools available for the developer to aid in the localization process. These tools are discussed in depth, and the pros and cons of each are presented to the reader. The book is unique, in that it covers both C# and VB .NET - all examples are in both programming languages. This gives the reader the unique perspective of being able to compare these two programming languages when writing code in .NET. Some of the core topics covered are: 1. The Globalization and Resources namespaces, which relate directly to localization 2. Resource files and how they are used in .NET 3. Visual and command line tools that aid in localization 4. In-depth discussion of design and implementation of world-ready programs Symmonds has included in this book a comprehensive example of a resource editor and takes readers through writing this editor in both C# and VB .NET. This project is not only useful as a product in itself, but is also instructive in how to write fairly complicated code in both .NET languages.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Written for the IT manager or developer planning to bring software to today's global markets, Internationalization and Localization Using Microsoft .NET provides a solid blueprint for success with the new and improved support for multilingual software available in .NET.

As a veteran of building software for multiple languages (with considerable experience with Visual Basic 6), author Nick Symmonds shares his insight about techniques that work best for internationalizing software. Early sections establish guiding principles on how to use "resource bundles" for all graphics and strings in your software. In an interesting early section, the author glances at the very different meanings of certain colors in Western and Eastern cultures, showing the dangers of making easy assumptions about how the visual elements of your software will travel.

Subsequent chapters look at how these string and graphics resources worked in the old Visual Basic 6. Here the author shows off a way to extend the support for multiple resource files in VB6. (Normally, VB6 supports only a single bundle.)

The text then zeros in on the new support for multilingual software in Microsoft's .NET platform, including default support for over a half-dozen calendars and tracking virtually all the world's languages (and dialects) with support for enumerating cultural regions. Most importantly, with .NET you can use XML-based resource files for storing culturally dependent strings and graphics separately. (Of course, based on this infrastructure, it's still up to you to translate your software into multiple languages.)

Techniques are illustrated here with two more substantial projects (in both VB .NET and C#). There's a useful custom resource editor and a hotel-booking application (with support for both English and German users). Final sections round out the discussion with the author's advice for localizing software and some hints for translating program text effectively across cultures, including advice for project management.

The .NET platform works with some 20 computer languages and is sure to be used on even more human languages as software is written for today's global markets. With good reference sections on the relevant .NET classes and APIs that will be needed to develop multilingual software, some effective sample code, and an expert's perspective on doing the job right, this appealingly concise volume will certainly fill a worthwhile niche. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Guidelines for internationalizing software (hints for choosing graphics and colors), overview of resource files, GUI design for multinational applications; introduction to Unicode, Visual Basic 6 resource files (including how to use multiple resource bundles), built-in .NET classes for localizing software (calendars, the CultureInfo class, region, and String classes), .NET reflection and threading for internationalization, tutorial to .NET XML-based resource files; resource editing in the Visual Studio .NET IDE, sample code for a custom resource editor with multilingual support, internationalizing GUIs, case study for a hotel-booking application, security issues with .NET resource files (plus .NET versioning, hints for project management, and outsourcing translation for multilingual software), considerations for installation utilities, and VB .NET and C# code examples.

About the Author

Nick Symmonds works for the Integrated System Solutions division of Ingersoll-Rand, developing and integrating security software. He started his professional life as an electronics technician. While getting his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Hartford, he started to gravitate toward programming. Nick has spent quite a few years programming in assembly, C, C++, and Visual Basic. Recently, he has latched onto .NET like a lamprey and loves digging into the .NET core. Nick has written several articles on programming and has three books out: Internationalization and Localization Using Microsoft .NET (Apress, 2002), GDI+ Programming in C# and VB .NET (Apress, 2002), and Data Entry and Validation with C# and VB .NET Windows Forms (Apress, 2003). He lives with his family in the northwest hills of Connecticut and has recently become addicted to golf and road cycling. He also enjoys woodworking, hiking, and exploring the hills on his motorcycle.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 1 edition (January 27, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590590023
• ISBN-13: 978-1590590027
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,210,415 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Do not waste your time with this book, June 28, 2002

By 

D. Noel (Cambridge, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Internationalization and Localization Using Microsoft .NET (Paperback)

Our company purchased this book so that we could localize a C# .net project. This book offered very few technical details about important parts of the process.

I found that the author wastes a great deal of space explaining concepts such as "The History of XML" and the basics of localization.

The most glaring omission is the lack of source code for a "functional" globalized application that demonstrates the concepts of satellite assemblies. The lack of source code is a glaring omission on the part of the publisher. In the end, I learned more from the WorldCalc SDK example than I did from this book.

Much of the book rehashes information available in the Visual Studio help documents.

I wish this book would have covered assembly tools such as ildasm. I, also, could not find mention of the all important Assembly Binding Log Viewer (FUSLOGVW.EXE).

This book was rushed to the market by the publisher. Hopefully, the topic will be addressed by another author who has more current information specific to actually working with .NET

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I expected a lot more with that title, March 9, 2002

By 

Jon Rigsby (Newark, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Internationalization and Localization Using Microsoft .NET (Paperback)

With a title like "Internationalization and Localization Using Microsoft .Net" I expected a lot more than this really thin book with no CD. One of the big things I was hoping for was information about the new Chinese encoding standard and whether .Net supports it. The government of China requires support and so we needed to know what .Net provides for it. But there was not even a word on how our international application could support it. In the end, I really got more help from the various topics in the MSDN that came with Visual Studio .Net than I did from this book.

I was also hoping for a lot of utilities that could make it easier to work with .Net, but there were none bundled.

On the good side, it was better than the Kaplan book in terms of typos and Mr. Symmonds rambled a lot less, too. And I do have to admit that the writing style was good. I really felt like the author was speaking to me. Unfortunately, after I was done with the mere 350 pages I realized that he was not saying as much as I would have liked.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A pretty good book, but... (read on!), February 16, 2002

By 

Michael S. Kaplan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Internationalization and Localization Using Microsoft .NET (Paperback)

DISCLAIMER: I was asked to review this book by a few people who were disappointed that I did not have plans to revise my efforts for .Net in the immediate future. So keep in mind that I am an expert with high expectations, rather than someone who bought the book to learn about the topic.

NOTE: I will call Mr. Symmonds "Nick" in the review but I do not actually know him. It just seemed too odd to be constantly referring to him as "Mr. Symmonds" when he made the effort to so carefully provide such a comfortable writing persona. I hope he will not be offended. :-)

ON TO THE REVIEW:

I have to say that I was quite pleased by the book, which does a good job of explaining much of what it means to produce good international applications with the .Net framework. It has examples and it really covers many important details of the Globalization and Encoding classes that are a part of the new framework, as well as the localization model in Windows Forms (WinForms). Production values are first rate (something I truly envy since there were so many problems with the rush to market for my book!) and examples are both on point and to the point. The subject matter is something that sells itself, and Nick packages things up quite well. His writing style is also solid and does not talk down to the reader at all -- it is that of a colleague telling you something that can literally mean the world to your applications (pun intended).

Not all was perfect, though, so I will spend most of the time here explaining my "gripes"...

There was no CDROM, which for me at least made the "includes a resource editor" blurb a bit less than truthful -- there was no "some assembly required" listed there. This book really needed a CD with it, as people want to be able to try things and test them right away. When you buy the book, prepare to do a lot of typing to keep up with it!

Internationalization gets good attention and examples as I said, but there is a lot less conceptual reasoning behind them than I would have liked. One of the biggest conceptual problems I had there was that the international features were actually designed by the very same NLS team that created the original Win32 APIs, based on all of the good and bad lessons they had learned over the last decade and a half, a point that seems to have been overlooked here (as an occasional "almost" member of that team, I tend to notice such things!). Perhaps if Nick had spent more time talking to the NLS+ team he would have been able to add more of that viewpoint, which would have (in my opinion) really enhanced the book.

He also failed to mention issues such as limitations on Win9x (controls such as WinForms TextBox controls do not support languages not on the default system code page). This is mainly a bad thing for the framework but in a book covering this topic it should have been mentioned, both for the sake of internationalization and for localization into other languages.

The book spent a lot more time on issues surrounding localizability rather than localization proper (which is actually okay, as localizability -- the process of making something that can be localized -- is usually more important to developers), but it completely glossed over *some* important localizability issues such as dealing with issues in different important international markets (example -- no good discussion on GB18030 requirements in China or HKSCS in Hong Kong). Since support for GB18030 is mandated in China and since HKSCS 2.0 support is really needed for Hong Kong but is not currently provided, discussion of them would have been nice.

There is no good discussion on security issues (in light of the last minute, month-long delay of the product's release from Microsoft to do intensive security reviews) is also unfortunate. There *are* internationalization issues that affect security even in .Net (casing and collation can still cause security problems for the unwary even if you are safer from "C/C++" problems like buffer overruns) so the lack of mention of them is unfortunate.

I tend to forgive these points (other than the lack of a CDROM!) since there was no room to cover them -- the book is way too short, in my opinion! I would have liked it to be a lot longer so it had room to cover all those issues, especially with [he]list price (mine was free since I was reviewing, but my recommendation to others has to take price into account). With that said, if Nick revises the book, he must make it longer! I have little doubt that such a revision could contain coverage of these missing topics and thus has a lot of potential to complete the topic's coverage and make for a stellar reference.

In the end, I am forced to give it a 3/5 (though I think it actually deserves a 3.5/5, Amazon does have its limits!). It is DEFINITELY a book worth owning but you will have a lot of work to do -- both as you are reading and after you are done -- if you want to create good globalized software with .Net.