If you're new to internationalizing software, this lesson is for you. This lesson uses a simple example to demonstrate how to internationalize a program so that it displays text messages in the appropriate language. You'll learn how Locale and ResourceBundle objects work together and how to use properties files.

Before Internationalization

The first version of the source code contained hardcoded English versions of the messages we want to display. This is NOT how you write internationalized software.

After Internationalization

This is a sneak preview of what our source code will look like after internationalization.

Running the Sample Program

To run the sample program, you specify the language and country on the command line. This section shows you a few examples.

Internationalizing the Sample Program

Internationalizing the program required just a few steps. You'll be surprised at how easy it was.