How to Set a Global Culture in an ASP.NET Core Application

ASP.NET Core is a powerful open-source framework that allows you to build high-performance, robust, and scalable web applications. One of the key features of this framework is the ability to set a global culture for your application, which ensures that your application can support multiple languages and cultures. In this article, we will explore how to set a global culture in an ASP.NET Core application.

What is a Global Culture?

A Global Culture is a combination of language and region. It includes the language-specific formatting and conventions that are used in different regions of the world. For instance, the date and time formats, currency symbols, and decimal separators vary from country to country. Therefore, it is necessary to set a global culture in your application to ensure it can handle these regional differences.

Setting the Global Culture in ASP.NET Core

Setting the global culture in an ASP.NET Core application is relatively easy. You need to perform the following steps:

Step 1: Add the Required NuGet Packages

Before you can set the global culture, you need to add the following NuGet packages to your project:

– Microsoft.AspNetCore.Localization
– Microsoft.Extensions.Localization

You can add these packages using the NuGet Package Manager.

Step 2: Create a Resource File

You need to create a resource file that contains the localized strings for your application. You can create a resource file by right-clicking the project in the Solution Explorer and selecting “Add New Item.” Then choose “Resource File” from the list of templates.

Step 3: Set the Supported Cultures

You need to set the supported cultures for your application. You can do this by adding the following code in the ConfigureServices method of the Startup class:

“`csharp
services.AddLocalization(options => options.ResourcesPath = “Resources”);

services.Configure(options =>
{
options.DefaultRequestCulture = new RequestCulture(“en-US”);
options.SupportedCultures = supportedCultures;
options.SupportedUICultures = supportedCultures;
});

var supportedCultures = new[]
{
new CultureInfo(“en-US”),
new CultureInfo(“fr-FR”),
new CultureInfo(“zh-CN”),
new CultureInfo(“de-DE”)
};
“`

In this code, we first add the localization middleware and specify the path to the resource file. After that, we configure the supported cultures by setting the default request culture and the supported cultures.

Step 4: Set the Current Culture

You can set the current culture for your application by adding the following code to the Configure method of the Startup class:

“`csharp
var locOptions = app.ApplicationServices.GetService>();
app.UseRequestLocalization(locOptions.Value);
“`

In this code, we get the current localization options from the app services and use the middleware to set the current culture.

Conclusion

Setting the global culture in an ASP.NET Core application is an essential aspect of building a global-ready application. By following the steps mentioned in this article, you can set the global culture for your application and ensure that it can support multiple languages and cultures. Furthermore, it is worth noting that setting a global culture not only enhances the user experience but also makes your application accessible to a broader audience.