Provides methods to access the locale of the current thread and to get localised strings. These strings may be loaded from resource bundles deployed in the repository. The MessageService provides functionality around Internationalization (i18n). It provides facilities to:
- Get a message based on a key from a localized properties file
- Get and set the locale
- Register and unregister resource bundles
All user displayed strings that originate in the repository should be externalised into resource bundles to ensure that the repository is fully localisable. Examples of strings requiring extraction include:
- Descriptive display labels used by a client
- Error messages
Extracted strings should be gathered into resource bundles by functional area. This enables functional areas to remain distinct within the repository. The base bundle should be named by functional area and have the .properties extension. All base bundles should be in US English. If a message needs to be parameterised the Java MessageFormatter style should be used.
The keys used in the resource bundles should be scoped by functional area to avoid clashes (this is important since at runtime the contents of the various resource bundles is combined, any names clashes will result in message values being overwritten).
A resource bundle can be placed anywhere in the source tree, but in general repository resource bundles should be placed in the alfresco.messages package.
Example resource bundle contents:
# User displayed string for the rule service functional area
ruleservice.error=There has been an error executing rule {0}.
ruleservice.confimation_all=All rules have been executed.
Before a resource bundle can be used by the repository it must be registered. Suitable methods are provided by the service to support this. And more commonly the org.alfresco.i18n.ResourceBundleBootstrapComponent class can be used as a Spring bean to register resource bundles.
The following example uses a web script (for more information on web scripts, see Web Scripts) to test registered resource bundles as follows:
import org.alfresco.service.ServiceRegistry;
import org.apache.commons.logging.Log;
import org.apache.commons.logging.LogFactory;
import org.springframework.extensions.webscripts.Cache;
import org.springframework.extensions.webscripts.DeclarativeWebScript;
import org.springframework.extensions.webscripts.Status;
import org.springframework.extensions.webscripts.WebScriptRequest;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Locale;
import java.util.Map;
/**
* A Web Script that can be used to test the MessageService class.
*
* @author martin.bergljung@alfresco.com
*/
publicclassMessageServiceTestWebscriptextendsDeclarativeWebScript {
privatestatic Log logger = LogFactory.getLog(MessageServiceTestWebscript.class);
/**
* The Alfresco Service Registry that gives access to all public content services in Alfresco.
*/
private ServiceRegistry serviceRegistry;
publicvoidsetServiceRegistry(ServiceRegistry serviceRegistry) {
this.serviceRegistry = serviceRegistry;
}
protected Map<String, Object> executeImpl(WebScriptRequest req, Status status, Cache cache) {
String key = req.getParameter("key");
String language = req.getParameter("language");
Locale locale = Locale.forLanguageTag(language);
Map<String, Object> model = new HashMap<String, Object>();
String message = "Your 'MessageServiceTestWebscript' Web Script was called: <br/>";
message += "Locale: " + locale.getDisplayName() + "<br/>";
message += "Translation of " + key + ": " + this.serviceRegistry.getMessageService().getMessage(key, locale);
logger.info(message);
model.put("message", message);
return model;
}
}
This Web Script is called with two parameters, one specifies the resource string we want (i.e. key) and one specifies the language we want the resource string text in (i.e. language).
We then use the ServiceRegistry to get to the MessageService, and then the getMessage method is called to get the requested message in correct locale.
The ServiceRegistry bean is injected into the Web Script controller bean as follows:
<beanid="webscript.alfresco.tutorials.messageservicetest.get"class="org.alfresco.training.platformsample.MessageServiceTestWebscript"parent="webscript">
<property name="serviceRegistry">
<ref bean="ServiceRegistry" />
</property>
</bean>
If we complete the Web Script with a descriptor and template as follows: /extension/templates/webscripts/alfresco/tutorials/messageservicetest.get.desc.xml:
<webscript>
<shortname>MessageService Test Sample Webscript</shortname>
<description>Get a message for a specific key and language, uses the MessageService</description>
<url>/sample/messageservicetest?key={key}&language={language}</url>
<authentication>user</authentication>
<format default="html"></format>
<lifecycle>sample</lifecycle>
</webscript>
/extension/templates/webscripts/alfresco/tutorials/messageservicetest.get.html.ftl:
${message}
And add two resource files as follows: platform-jar/src/main/resources/alfresco/module/platform-jar/messages/test-messages.properties:
alfresco.tutorial.hello=Hello
platform-jar/src/main/resources/alfresco/module/platform-jar/messages/test-messages_sv.properties:
alfresco.tutorial.hello=Hej
These two resource files can be loaded by defining the following Spring bean:
<beanid="org.alfresco.tutorial.test.i18nResourceBundles"class="org.alfresco.i18n.ResourceBundleBootstrapComponent">
<property name="resourceBundles">
<list>
<value>alfresco.module.${project.artifactId}.messages.test-messages</value>
</list>
</property>
</bean>
Then we can call the Web Script with the following URL:
http://localhost:8080/alfresco/s/sample/messageservicetest?key=alfresco.tutorial.hello&language=en
The response in the browser will look something like this:
Your 'MessageServiceTestWebscript' Web Script was called: Locale: English Translation of alfresco.tutorial.hello: Hello
If we call it with the other locale (sv) the response looks like this (http://localhost:8080/alfresco/s/sample/messageservicetest?key=alfresco.tutorial.hello&language=sv):
Your 'MessageServiceTestWebscript' Web Script was called: Locale: Swedish Translation of alfresco.tutorial.hello: Hej