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Class java.util.Locale

java.lang.Object
    |
    +----java.util.Locale

public final class Locale
extends Object
implements Cloneable, Serializable
A Locale object represents a specific geographical, political, or cultural region. An operation that requires a Locale to perform its task is called locale-sensitive and uses the Locale to tailor information for the user. For example, displaying a number is a locale-sensitive operation--the number should be formatted according to the customs/conventions of the user's native country, region, or culture.

You create a Locale object using one of the two constructors in this class:

 Locale(String language, String country)
 Locale(String language, String country, String variant)
 
The first argument to both constructors is a valid ISO Language Code. These codes are the lower-case two-letter codes as defined by ISO-639. You can find a full list of these codes at a number of sites, such as:
http://www.ics.uci.edu/pub/ietf/http/related/iso639.txt

The second argument to both constructors is a valid ISO Country Code. These codes are the upper-case two-letter codes as defined by ISO-3166. You can find a full list of these codes at a number of sites, such as:
http://www.chemie.fu-berlin.de/diverse/doc/ISO_3166.html

The second constructor requires a third argument--the Variant. The Variant codes are vendor and browser-specific. For example, use WIN for Windows, MAC for Macintosh, and POSIX for POSIX. Where there are two variants, separate them with an underscore, and put the most important one first. For example, a Traditional Spanish collation might construct a locale with parameters for language, country and variant as: "es", "ES", "Traditional_WIN".

Because a Locale object is just an identifier for a region, no validity check is performed when you construct a Locale. If you want to see whether particular resources are available for the Locale you construct, you must query those resources. For example, ask the NumberFormat for the locales it supports using its getAvailableLocales method.
Note: When you ask for a resource for a particular locale, you get back the best available match, not necessarily precisely what you asked for. For more information, look at ResourceBundle.

The Locale class provides a number of convenient constants that you can use to create Locale objects for commonly used locales. For example, the following creates a Locale object for the United States:

 Locale.US
 

Once you've created a Locale you can query it for information about itself. Use getCountry to get the ISO Country Code and getLanguage to get the ISO Language Code. You can use getDisplayCountry to get the name of the country suitable for displaying to the user. Similarly, you can use getDisplayLanguage to get the name of the language suitable for displaying to the user. Interestingly, the getDisplayXXX methods are themselves locale-sensitive and have two versions: one that uses the default locale and one that uses the locale specified as an argument.

The JDK provides a number of classes that perform locale-sensitive operations. For example, the NumberFormat class formats numbers, currency, or percentages in a locale-sensitive manner. Classes such as NumberFormat have a number of convenience methods for creating a default object of that type. For example, the NumberFormat class provides these three convenience methods for creating a default NumberFormat object:

 NumberFormat.getInstance()
 NumberFormat.getCurrencyInstance()
 NumberFormat.getPercentInstance()
 
These methods have two variants; one with an explicit locale and one without; the latter using the default locale.
 NumberFormat.getInstance(myLocale)
 NumberFormat.getCurrencyInstance(myLocale)
 NumberFormat.getPercentInstance(myLocale)
 
A Locale is the mechanism for identifying the kind of object (NumberFormat) that you would like to get. The locale is just a mechanism for identifying objects, not a container for the objects themselves.

Each class that performs locale-sensitive operations allows you to get all the available objects of that type. You can sift through these objects by language, country, or variant, and use the display names to present a menu to the user. For example, you can create a menu of all the collation objects suitable for a given language. Such classes must implement these three class methods:

 public static Locale[] getAvailableLocales()
 public static String getDisplayName(Locale objectLocale,
                                     Locale displayLocale)
 public static final String getDisplayName(Locale objectLocale)
     // getDisplayName will throw MissingResourceException if the locale
     // is not one of the available locales.
 

See Also:
ResourceBundle, Format, NumberFormat, java.text.Collation

Field Summary
static Locale  CANADA
Useful constant for country.
static Locale  CANADA_FRENCH
Useful constant for country.
static Locale  CHINA
Useful constant for country.
static Locale  CHINESE
Useful constant for language.
static Locale  ENGLISH
Useful constant for language.
static Locale  FRANCE
Useful constant for country.
static Locale  FRENCH
Useful constant for language.
static Locale  GERMAN
Useful constant for language.
static Locale  GERMANY
Useful constant for country.
static Locale  ITALIAN
Useful constant for language.
static Locale  ITALY
Useful constant for country.
static Locale  JAPAN
Useful constant for country.
static Locale  JAPANESE
Useful constant for language.
static Locale  KOREA
Useful constant for country.
static Locale  KOREAN
Useful constant for language.
static Locale  PRC
Useful constant for country.
static Locale  SIMPLIFIED_CHINESE
Useful constant for language.
static Locale  TAIWAN
Useful constant for country.
static Locale  TRADITIONAL_CHINESE
Useful constant for language.
static Locale  UK
Useful constant for country.
static Locale  US
Useful constant for country.
 

Constructor Summary
 Locale(String language, String country, String variant)
Construct a locale from language, country, variant.
 Locale(String language, String country)
Construct a locale from language, country.
 

Method Summary
Object  clone()
Overrides Cloneable
boolean  equals(Object obj)
 
static Locale[]  getAvailableLocales()
Returns a list of all installed locales.
String  getCountry()
Getter for programmatic name of field, an uppercased two-letter ISO-3166 code.
static Locale  getDefault()
Common method of getting the current default Locale.
String  getDisplayCountry()
Returns a name for the locale's country that is appropriate for display to the user.
String  getDisplayCountry(Locale inLocale)
Returns a name for the locale's country that is appropriate for display to the user.
String  getDisplayLanguage()
Returns a name for the locale's language that is appropriate for display to the user.
String  getDisplayLanguage(Locale inLocale)
Returns a name for the locale's language that is appropriate for display to the user.
String  getDisplayName()
Returns a name for the locale that is appropriate for display to the user.
String  getDisplayName(Locale inLocale)
Returns a name for the locale that is appropriate for display to the user.
String  getDisplayVariant()
Returns a name for the locale's variant code that is appropriate for display to the user.
String  getDisplayVariant(Locale inLocale)
Returns a name for the locale's variant code that is appropriate for display to the user.
String  getISO3Country()
Getter for the three-letter ISO country abbreviation of the locale.
String  getISO3Language()
Getter for the three-letter ISO language abbreviation of the locale.
static String[]  getISOCountries()
Returns a list of all 2-letter country codes defined in ISO 3166.
static String[]  getISOLanguages()
Returns a list of all 2-letter language codes defined in ISO 639.
String  getLanguage()
Getter for programmatic name of field, an lowercased two-letter ISO-639 code.
String  getVariant()
Getter for programmatic name of field.
int  hashCode()
Override hashCode.
static void  setDefault(Locale newLocale)
Sets the default.
String  toString()
Getter for the programmatic name of the entire locale, with the language, country and variant separated by underbars.
 
Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
 clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait
 

Field Detail

ENGLISH

public static final Locale ENGLISH
Useful constant for language.

FRENCH

public static final Locale FRENCH
Useful constant for language.

GERMAN

public static final Locale GERMAN
Useful constant for language.

ITALIAN

public static final Locale ITALIAN
Useful constant for language.

JAPANESE

public static final Locale JAPANESE
Useful constant for language.

KOREAN

public static final Locale KOREAN
Useful constant for language.

CHINESE

public static final Locale CHINESE
Useful constant for language.

SIMPLIFIED_CHINESE

public static final Locale SIMPLIFIED_CHINESE
Useful constant for language.

TRADITIONAL_CHINESE

public static final Locale TRADITIONAL_CHINESE
Useful constant for language.

FRANCE

public static final Locale FRANCE
Useful constant for country.

GERMANY

public static final Locale GERMANY
Useful constant for country.

ITALY

public static final Locale ITALY
Useful constant for country.

JAPAN

public static final Locale JAPAN
Useful constant for country.

KOREA

public static final Locale KOREA
Useful constant for country.

CHINA

public static final Locale CHINA
Useful constant for country.

PRC

public static final Locale PRC
Useful constant for country.

TAIWAN

public static final Locale TAIWAN
Useful constant for country.

UK

public static final Locale UK
Useful constant for country.

US

public static final Locale US
Useful constant for country.

CANADA

public static final Locale CANADA
Useful constant for country.

CANADA_FRENCH

public static final Locale CANADA_FRENCH
Useful constant for country.
Constructor Detail

Locale

public Locale(String language,
              String country,
              String variant)
Construct a locale from language, country, variant.
Parameters:
language - lowercase two-letter ISO-639 code.
country - uppercase two-letter ISO-3166 code.
variant - vendor and browser specific code. See class description.

Locale

public Locale(String language,
              String country)
Construct a locale from language, country.
Parameters:
language - lowercase two-letter ISO-639 code.
country - uppercase two-letter ISO-3166 code.
Method Detail

getDefault

public static Locale getDefault()
Common method of getting the current default Locale. Used for the presentation: menus, dialogs, etc. Generally set once when your applet or application is initialized, then never reset. (If you do reset the default locale, you probably want to reload your GUI, so that the change is reflected in your interface.)

More advanced programs will allow users to use different locales for different fields, e.g. in a spreadsheet.
Note that the initial setting will match the host system.


setDefault

public static void setDefault(Locale newLocale)
Sets the default. Normally set once at the beginning of applet or application, then never reset. setDefault does not reset the host locale.
Parameters:
newLocale - Locale to set to.

getAvailableLocales

public static Locale[] getAvailableLocales()
Returns a list of all installed locales.

getISOCountries

public static String[] getISOCountries()
Returns a list of all 2-letter country codes defined in ISO 3166. Can be used to create Locales.

getISOLanguages

public static String[] getISOLanguages()
Returns a list of all 2-letter language codes defined in ISO 639. Can be used to create Locales.

getLanguage

public String getLanguage()
Getter for programmatic name of field, an lowercased two-letter ISO-639 code.
See Also:
getDisplayLanguage

getCountry

public String getCountry()
Getter for programmatic name of field, an uppercased two-letter ISO-3166 code.
See Also:
getDisplayCountry

getVariant

public String getVariant()
Getter for programmatic name of field.
See Also:
getDisplayVariant

toString

public final String toString()
Getter for the programmatic name of the entire locale, with the language, country and variant separated by underbars. Language is always lower case, and country is always uppcer case. If a field is missing, at most one underbar will occur. Example: "en", "de_DE", "en_US_WIN", "de_POSIX", "fr_MAC"
Overrides:
toString in class Object
See Also:
getDisplayName

getISO3Language

public String getISO3Language() throws MissingResourceException
Getter for the three-letter ISO language abbreviation of the locale. Returns the empty string if the locale doesn't specify a language.
Throws:
MissingResourceException - Throws MissingResourceException if the three-letter language abbreviation is not available for this locale.

getISO3Country

public String getISO3Country() throws MissingResourceException
Getter for the three-letter ISO country abbreviation of the locale. Returns the empty string if the locale doesn't specify a country.
Throws:
MissingResourceException - Throws MissingResourceException if the three-letter language abbreviation is not available for this locale.

getDisplayLanguage

public final String getDisplayLanguage()
Returns a name for the locale's language that is appropriate for display to the user. This will be the name the locale's language localized for the default locale, if that data is available. For example, if the locale is fr_FR and the default locale is en_US, getDisplayLanguage() will return "French"; if the locale is en_US and the default locale is fr_FR, getDisplayLanguage() will return "anglais". If the appropriate name isn't available (say, we don't have a Japanese name for Croatian), this function falls back on the English name and uses the ISO code as a last-resort value. If the locale doesn't specify a language, this function returns the empty string.

getDisplayLanguage

public String getDisplayLanguage(Locale inLocale)
Returns a name for the locale's language that is appropriate for display to the user. This will be the name the locale's language localized for inLocale, if that data is available. For example, if the locale is fr_FR and inLocale is en_US, getDisplayLanguage() will return "French"; if the locale is en_US and inLocale is fr_FR, getDisplayLanguage() will return "anglais". If the appropriate name isn't available (say, we don't have a Japanese name for Croatian), this function falls back on the default locale, on the English name, and finally on the ISO code as a last-resort value. If the locale doesn't specify a language, this function returns the empty string.

getDisplayCountry

public final String getDisplayCountry()
Returns a name for the locale's country that is appropriate for display to the user. This will be the name the locale's country localized for the default locale, if that data is available. For example, if the locale is fr_FR and the default locale is en_US, getDisplayCountry() will return "France"; if the locale is en_US and the default locale is fr_FR, getDisplayLanguage() will return "Etats-Unis". If the appropriate name isn't available (say, we don't have a Japanese name for Croatia), this function falls back on the English name and uses the ISO code as a last-resort value. If the locale doesn't specify a country, this function returns the empty string.

getDisplayCountry

public String getDisplayCountry(Locale inLocale)
Returns a name for the locale's country that is appropriate for display to the user. This will be the name the locale's country localized for inLocale, if that data is available. For example, if the locale is fr_FR and inLocale is en_US, getDisplayCountry() will return "France"; if the locale is en_US and inLocale is fr_FR, getDisplayLanguage() will return "Etats-Unis". If the appropriate name isn't available (say, we don't have a Japanese name for Croatia), this function falls back on the default locale, on the English name, and finally on the ISO code as a last-resort value. If the locale doesn't specify a country, this function returns the empty string.

getDisplayVariant

public final String getDisplayVariant()
Returns a name for the locale's variant code that is appropriate for display to the user. If possible, the name will be localized for the default locale. If the locale doesn't specify a variant code, this function returns the empty string.

getDisplayVariant

public String getDisplayVariant(Locale inLocale)
Returns a name for the locale's variant code that is appropriate for display to the user. If possible, the name will be localized for inLocale. If the locale doesn't specify a variant code, this function returns the empty string.

getDisplayName

public final String getDisplayName()
Returns a name for the locale that is appropriate for display to the user. This will be the values returned by getDisplayLanguage(), getDisplayCountry(), and getDisplayVariant() assembled into a single string. The display name will have one of the following forms:

language (country, variant)

language (country)

language (variant)

country (variant)

language

country

variant

depending on which fields are specified in the locale. If the language, country, and variant fields are all empty, this function returns the empty string.

getDisplayName

public String getDisplayName(Locale inLocale)
Returns a name for the locale that is appropriate for display to the user. This will be the values returned by getDisplayLanguage(), getDisplayCountry(), and getDisplayVariant() assembled into a single string. The display name will have one of the following forms:

language (country, variant)

language (country)

language (variant)

country (variant)

language

country

variant

depending on which fields are specified in the locale. If the language, country, and variant fields are all empty, this function returns the empty string.

clone

public Object clone()
Overrides Cloneable
Overrides:
clone in class Object

hashCode

public int hashCode()
Override hashCode. Since Locales are often used in hashtables, caches the value for speed.
Overrides:
hashCode in class Object

equals

public boolean equals(Object obj)
Overrides:
equals in class Object

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