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Resources and Localization Using the .NET Framework SDK

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**Note   **The sample code for this tutorial is installed in the SDK Samples\Tutorials\ResourcesAndLocalization subdirectory.

This tutorial shows developers how to work with text and image resources to build .NET-based applications, components, and Web applications using the .NET Framework SDK. A flexible and comprehensive system for handling resources is particularly useful when developing localized applications that must use different resources at run time, depending on the user's language and location.

The development tools in this SDK use the .NET Framework to allow developers to quickly build and deploy robust applications that take advantage of the new common language runtime environment. Using these tools with the .NET Framework SDK provides the following three benefits:

  • Fully managed and feature-rich application-execution environment.
  • Built-in support for localization.
  • Simplified application deployment.

This tutorial walks you through the entire resource and localization process: creating resources, packaging resources (typically into DLL assemblies), accessing the resources from your code (even from a Web server using ASP.NET), and testing the resulting resource-based applications.

The sample programs that accompany this tutorial are written in both Visual Basic and Visual C# — the new language designed for the .NET Framework. The steps necessary to construct, compile, and run Visual Basic and Visual C# programs are detailed in a separate tutorial, Introduction to Developing with the .NET Framework. Program deployment is also covered in greater detail in a separate tutorial, Packaging and Deploying .NET Applications.

After reading this tutorial and working with the samples, you should be able to plan how to package and deploy localized .NET applications. Appendix A to this tutorial contains additional information on several utilities related to localization.

See Also

Introduction to Resources and Localization | Common Resource Concepts | Creating Resources | Retrieving Resources Using Code | Resources Summary | Appendix A: Additional Resource Information | Appendix B: Resource Tools