VisualAge supports two means of text separation by locale: list bundles and property files. A list bundle is a persistent form of java.util.ListResourceBundle. A property file is a persistent form of java.util.PropertyResourceBundle.
Both types of resource bundle contain key-value pairs. ListResourceBundle.getContents( ) returns an array of key-value pairs. The key-value pairs stored as static strings in a property file are used to initialize the corresponding bean when it is loaded. Each resource bundle contains values for one (or a default) locale. The name of the bundle can be keyed by locale so that the virtual machine loads the appropriate resources for the current locale setting.
VisualAge supports the creation, editing, and use of resource bundles for all text found in a class. You can separate String property values as you set them from the Visual Composition Editor, or you can separate all text at once from the Workbench.
You can use your own resource bundles, or you can create them using VisualAge. You can edit existing resource bundles by hand or from within VisualAge. Multiple resource sources can be referenced within a single bean. VisualAge generates the appropriate code the next time you save the bean.
VisualAge does not separate text located in user code fields. To take advantage of programmatic string separation, move the user code into a separate method and call the method from within the user code block.