On Thu, 7 Jun 2001, Alex Colic wrote:
> Hi,
>
> my boss wants me to set up one of my apps written using struts for a demo.
> He wants to have a web page with a couple of flags. The use clicks on of the
> flags and enters the program using the language they selected.
>
> Not having gone down this road before any idea what that would entail. I
> know I would have to create multiple localisation files for the languages.
> But how do I specify for each user what file to use and can you have
> multiple users all accessing your program concurrently viewing it in
> different languages.
>
> Some insight into the above is appreciated.
>
> Alex
>
>
The technical information on how to do this (modify the Locale in the
user's session) is correct -- I just wanted to make a social comment on
your boss's request.
When I built an app in Europe a couple of years ago (which is where a lot
of the basic ideas for Struts came from :-), I was told that the use of
flags to select languages was pretty offensive to people living in
countries that were officially multilingual -- such as Belgium, where
large portions of the population speak Dutch and French. Using flags for
The Netherlands and France would not really have been appropriate.
I ended up using a little SELECT element listing all of the languages that
were supported by the app, with a little JavaScript "onchange" handler
that submitted it whenever a change was made. This also took lots less
space on the screen.
Craig McClanahan
