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JSF 2 Resource Bundle Example

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When you implement a web application, it’s good idea to collect message strings in a central location. This process makes it easier to keep messages consistent and, crucially, makes it easier to localize your application for other locales.

The messages strings are collected in a file(s) in the properties format, and those files must use the extension .properties. you can declare the message bundle in two ways. The simplest way is to supply file named faces-config.xml in the WEB-INF directory of your application. Instead of using a global resource bundle declaration, you can add f:loadBundle element to each JSF page that needs access to the bundle. In either case, the messages in the bundle are accessible through a map variable that defined in the both way.

Also Read:

When you localize  a bundle file, you need to add a locale suffix to the file name: an underscore followed by the lowercase, two-letter ISO-639 language code (you can find a listing of all two- and three-letter ISO-639 language codes at this link).

1. Managed Bean

IndexBean.java

package net.javabeat.jsf;

import java.util.Locale;

import javax.faces.bean.ManagedBean;
import javax.faces.bean.SessionScoped;
import javax.faces.context.FacesContext;

@ManagedBean
@SessionScoped
public class IndexBean {

	private String locale = "en";

	public String getLocale() {
		return locale;
	}

	public void setLocale(String locale) {
		this.locale = locale;
	}

	public String changeLocale(String locale){
		// Change the locale attribute
		this.locale = locale;
		// Change the locale of the view
		FacesContext.getCurrentInstance().getViewRoot().setLocale(new Locale(this.locale));
		return "";
	}
}

2. faces-cofig.xml

faces-config.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<faces-config xmlns="http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee"
	xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
	xsi:schemaLocation="http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee/web-facesconfig_2_2.xsd"
	version="2.2">
<application>
	<resource-bundle>
		<base-name>net.javabeat.jsf.application</base-name>
		<var>msg</var>
	</resource-bundle>
</application>
</faces-config>

3. The View

index.xhtml

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"
	xmlns:ui="http://java.sun.com/jsf/facelets"
	xmlns:h="http://java.sun.com/jsf/html"
	xmlns:f="http://java.sun.com/jsf/core"
	xmlns:c="http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/core">
<h:head>
	<title><h:outputText value="#{msg.title}"/></title>
</h:head>
<h:body>
	<h:form id="form">
	<f:loadBundle var="messages" basename="net.javabeat.jsf.messages"></f:loadBundle>
		<h1>
			<h:outputText value="#{msg.head}" />
		</h1>
		<h2>
			<h:outputText value="#{msg.example_name}" />
		</h2>
		<h:outputText value="#{msg.hello_message}"/>
		<br/>
		<br/>
		<h:outputText value="#{messages.inlineLoad}"/>
		<br/>
		<br/>
		<h:commandButton value="#{messages.german}" action="#{indexBean.changeLocale('de')}" rendered="#{indexBean.locale == 'en'}"/>
		<h:commandButton value="#{messages.english}" action="#{indexBean.changeLocale('en')}" rendered="#{indexBean.locale == 'de'}"/>
	</h:form>
</h:body>
</html>

4. The Properties Files

The below snapshot shows you the bundle properties files that already located at the classpath.

JSF 2 Message Bundle Example 1

  • Review the attached zip file for viewing the messages files.

5. The Deployment Descriptor (web.xml)

web.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<web-app xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
	xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee" xmlns:web="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee/web-app_2_5.xsd"
	xsi:schemaLocation="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee
	http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee/web-app_2_5.xsd"
	id="WebApp_ID" version="2.5" metadata-complete="true">
	<context-param>
		<description>State saving method: 'client' or 'server'
						(=default). See JSF Specification 2.5.2</description>
		<param-name>javax.faces.STATE_SAVING_METHOD</param-name>
		<param-value>client</param-value>
	</context-param>
	<context-param>
		<param-name>javax.faces.application.CONFIG_FILES</param-name>
		<param-value>/WEB-INF/faces-config.xml</param-value>
	</context-param>
	<servlet>
		<servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
		<servlet-class>javax.faces.webapp.FacesServlet</servlet-class>
		<load-on-startup>1</load-on-startup>
	</servlet>
	<servlet-mapping>
		<servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
		<url-pattern>/faces/*</url-pattern>
	</servlet-mapping>
	<servlet-mapping>
		<servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
		<url-pattern>*.xhtml</url-pattern>
	</servlet-mapping>
	<listener>
		<listener-class>com.sun.faces.config.ConfigureListener</listener-class>
	</listener>
</web-app>

6. JSF 2 Message Bundle Demo

The below snapshots will show you the complete scenario of using the message bundle properties for achieving a localization. The languages that are selected for such that demonstration are English and German.

JSF 2 Message Bundle Example 2

  • The default locale for the application is an English, cause the browser is defaulted as English.
  • Once the user has clicked on the German action, the form will be submitted and the action change locale will be executed.
  • Once the action have been executed the FacesContext should change the locale using getViewRoot().setLocale.

JSF 2 Message Bundle Example 3

  • The Locale have been changed.
  • The german properties have been loaded and used.
  • The ability to return back into English locale is already been exist by clicking on the English action that displayed using the german locale.
[wpdm_file id=20]

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