Description

WebWork supports internationalization (in short, i18n) in two different places: the UI tags and the action/field error messages.

• Tags Typically the i18n and text tag
• Validation

Resource Bundle Search Order

Resource bundles are searched in the following order:

1. ActionClass.properties
2. BaseClass.properties (all the way to Object.properties)
3. Interface.properties (every interface and sub-interface)
4. ModelDriven's model (if implements ModelDriven), for the model object repeat from 1
5. package.properties (of the directory where class is located and every parent directory all the way to the root directory)
6. search up the i18n message key hierarchy itself
7. global resource properties (webwork.custom.i18n.resources) defined in webwork.properties

For more information, checkout the LocalizedTextUtil class.

Package Hierarchy To clarify #5, while traversing the package hierarchy, WW will look for a file package.properties: com/   acme/     package.properties     actions/       package.properties       FooAction.java       FooAction.properties If FooAction.properties does not exist, com/acme/action/package.properties will be searched for, if not found com/acme/package.properties, if not found com/package.properties, etc.

Examples

Using getText()

To display i18n text, you can use a call to getText() in the property tag, or any other tag such as the UI tags (this is especially useful for labels of UI tags):

<ww:property value="getText('some.key')" />

Text Tag

You may also use the text tag:

<-- Third Example -->
<ww:text name="some.key" />

<-- Fourth Example -->
<a:text name="some.invalid.key" >
   The Default Message That Will Be Displayed
</a:text>

I18n Tag

Also, note that there is an i18n tag that will push a resource bundle on to the stack, allowing you to display text that would otherwise not be part of the resource bundle search hierarchy mentioned previously.

<ww:i18n name="some.package.bundle" >
     <ww:text name="some.key" />
</ww:i18n>

 

Internationalization in SiteMesh decorators is possible, but there are a few quirks about it. Check out the SiteMesh page to learn how to be integrate WebWork and SiteMesh, including integration tips.

I18n Interceptor

See I18n Interceptor for more info. It basically pushes a locale into the ActionContext map upon every request. Webwork (components, ActionSupport etc.) honours this and hence every i18n related aspect will used this locale. Its a pretty elegant way of changing locale upon request as well.

Global resource (webwork.custom.i18n.resources) in webwork.properties

A global resource bundle could be specified through the 'webwork.custom.i18n.resources' property in webwork.properties. The locale can be siwtched by 'webwork.locale' in the webwork.properties as well.

Comparison with Struts

Struts users should be familiar with the application.properties resource bundle, where you can put all the messages in the application that are going to be translated. WebWork, though, splits the resource bundles per action or model class, and you may end up with duplicated messages in those resource bundles. A quick fix for that is to create a file called ActionSupport.properties in com/opensymphony/xwork and put it on your classpath. This will only work well if all your actions subclass ActionSupport.