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Translating comments and region names in source code

Does anyone know of a batch processor or a VS 2010 plugin/script that would let me translate comments and region names from Chinese into English?
The only ones I've found either process all strings or only one string at a time.
I have two large C# projects that I am trying to read through.
Thanks.

Use PrepTags to prepare your file for translation. It will allow you to select the text to be translated based on regex.
www.preptags.com
You can work file by file for free, or process the files as batch using the pro version (€39)
In your case, it's pretty simple to prepare. You just mark everything as protected, then unprotect the content of the comments & region names.
Disclosure: I develop PrepTags.

As was noted, you can use Google Translate API or alternatively Bing Translator API. You can detect comments and regions in your files using System.CodeDom.

I'm not too sure if this is possible. What you can do to help would be the following:
1) Make sure that both C# projects have the Properties > Build > Xml document file check box checked.
2.1) Write an application that reads in the generated xml file.
2.2) Parse the file, and for each value make a call to Google Translate to get the translated value.
2.3) Place the translated value within another xml file that has the same structure as the one created from building the project.
This wouldn't solve the your desire to translate the region names, but its a start. At least you would have intelligence when using the two projects.
This is actually a good idea for a small open source project. I may decide to pick it up. If I do, I'll let you know.

Visual Studio - Tool to replace hard coded strings with resources

I have a big ASP.NET project full of hard coded strings, that now have to be extracted to resources. Such strings can be found almost anywhere (in .cs files, .aspx files, .ascx files, etc.) and the amount of files is huge. What I'm looking for is a tool (or any way) to find all these hard coded strings in one shot and put them all together in the resource file, instead of me going manually through each file. Does anything like this exist?
Note: I'm aware that it would have been better to put the strings in resources straight away when they were needed the first time, but this is a 2 years old project where nobody really cared (typical example of "not my problem" philosophy).
Thank you very much.
UPDATE: I tried CodeRush (I couldn't try RGreatEx for obvious reasons), and I'm having difficulties using it. The main issue is that the strings I'm looking for are located mainly in .aspx files, and strings in those files don't have the "Refactor to resource" command available.
For example, I can have elements like this:
<dxwgv:ASPxSummaryItem DisplayFormat="{0}" FieldName="TOTAL" ShowInColumn="Total" SummaryType="Sum" />
The part I need to change is ShowInColumn="Total" and make it like ShowInColumn="<%$ Resources:PortalResource, Total %>". This is not a string assignment in a strict way, but an attribute assignment, so the "Refactor!" command of CodeRush doesn't appear.
My target is to find all of them in one shot and change them in a specific interface (i.e. like a localization tool) instead of looking for them one by one and manually creating the corresponding resource. Refactoring one by one inside each file would be an improvement, but still very time consuming...

You could take a look at the resource refactoring tool at
http://www.codeplex.com/ResourceRefactoring
It's an instance-by-instance tool rather than a batch replacement tool. It's free and standalone so you don't need Resharper or Coderush.

Check out the new open source project VisualLocalizer on CodePlex: VisualLocalizer page. If you have some ideas, post them as issues - the project is under development and we welcome feedback.

VisualStudio lets you search and replace with RegEx. It won't be the "fix all in one shot" solution, but it should cut back on the amount manual work significantly.
Just a thought.

If you have a look at DevExpress' CodeRush it has the functionaility you are looking for, you may need to automate it to do it a all in one shot.
It has a great deal more too!
Kindness,
Dan

Try RGreatEx. This is a plugin for ReSharper:
RGreatEx is the most powerful localizer and coding helper for Visual Studio. Once installed, it lets you localize .NET applications and produce safer code, saving up to 95% of time the developer usually spends on doing the same by hand. Empower yourself with time-saving refactorings, such as "Move to resource" and "Rename resource". The plug-in will automatically analyze string and resource usage and suggest moving strings to resources.

Do you have ReSharper? Then you perhaps should wait for version 5.0. It will have RGreatEx (mentioned by Anton) functionality included. Read the thread from the R# forum on this topic.
Update: The feature will be in R# 5.0. See the official announcement.

I've just published new tool called Jinnee.Package for string refactor. You can find it on Visual Studio gallery:
http://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/7ec5a225-dea4-47ae-8ebc-450d2980937f?SRC=Home

Visual Studio 2008 and C#

I'm an IT Professional with a background with developing ASP/VBscript/SQL web applications. I want to take some training and get up to speed with Visual Studio 2008 and C# so that I can take over a project at work and make updates/bug fixes in house rather than calling in a third party.
The web application I'll be working on was developed in Visual Studio 2005 with a mix of C# code and some Ajax.
When I load the source code into Visual Studio 2008 I received a warning that the Source Control Plugin wasn't installed. It's looking for SourceSafe which I don't have. Is this necessary to use?
I'm starting a training course in February called Introduction to Visual Studio C# 2008. Well this be adequate to get me going in the right direction to be able to update, fix, and make minor changes to our web application? This is a big opportunity for me and I don't want to blow it.
Thanks!

SourceSafe is a Software Configuration Management tool from Microsoft, and is not required. I WOULD recommend using some form of SCM, but flavor is a matter of preference.
If the pop-ups are annoying to you and you would like to disable them, then removing the SourceSafe bindings from the project should stop them.
From http://weblogs.asp.net/bkcarroll/archive/2004/03/08/86059.aspx :
Solution:
1 - Go to the folder containing the solution files and delete the following:
mssccprj.scc
MyProject.vssscc
vssver.scc
2 - Open MyProject.sln in your favorite text editor and remove the following section:
GlobalSection(SourceCodeControl) = preSolution
...
EndGlobalSection
3 - Go to the folder containing the project files and delete the following:
MyProject.vbproj.vspscc
mssccprj.scc
vssver.scc
4 - Open MyProject.vbproj in your text editor and remove the following lines:
SccProjectName = "SAK"
SccLocalPath = "SAK"
SccAuxPath = "SAK"
SccProvider = "SAK"
Now you can open the solution/project with no source control errors.
As far as the class goes, if you're already familiar with ASP/VBScript, you can probably pick up a C# class and figure out the rest. If not, I would suggest going for an ASP focused class that utilizes a C# back-end.

I would expect that a course named "Introduction to Visual Studio C# 2008" would probably not cover Ajax technologies, so you might want to look for some additional resources on that topic. (It might not even cover ASP.NET in significant depth, so I'd advise checking the syllabus, and if the ASP.NET coverage is weak then prepare for some additional learning on that topic as well.)
Re the Source Safe plug-in: you will need this if you want to work on the code base (so you can check in and out of the existing VSS repository). You will not need it just to browse the code.

Well James that is up to you. I am not familer with the course but if you apply yourself and pay attention I'm sure you can achive your goal. Do not be afraid to move beyond just course work to learn new things. There is a lot of information about Visual Studio on the internet.

SourceSafe is not required to use Visual Studio.
Learning the basics of VS will definitely allow you to update and fix your web apps. VS allows you to work with all the technologies you mentioned all in one environment. Although ASP/VBScript are "legacy" at this point, there is still support for them in the VS environment.

James I'd suggest that you look at the free resources (video and textual) available to you on ASP.NET. I would presume that once you've read a few tutorials and watched some videos + taken your training course you should be able to maintain the code base. Add in the fact that sites like StackOverflow have a large .NET community and there are always people willing to help.
Good luck

Are there any performance issues or caveats with resource (.resx) files? [closed]

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Resource files seem great for localization of labels and messages, but are they perfect?
For example:
Is there a better solution if there is a huge amount of resources? Like 100,000 strings in a .resx file? (Theoretically, I do not actually have this problem)
Is this a good method for storing the other types of data, such as images, icons, audio files, regular files, etc.?
Is it a best practice to store your .resx files in a stand-alone project for easier updates/compiling?
Are there any other issues that you have run into when using .resx files?

1. Is there a better solution if there is a huge amount of resources? Like 100,000 strings in a .resx file? (Theoretically, I do not actually have this problem)
I've used Alfresco as an alternative content repository on Java projects. RESX files, from a maintaince standpoint (because of encoding issues I guess) can really stink.
2. Is this a good method for storing the other types of data, such as images, icons, audio files, regular files, etc.?
I've seen it work with images...but that's it. (not sure with other media/files)
3. Is it a best practice to store your .resx files in a stand-alone project for easier updates/compiling?
I don't, but you can edit a resx file on a live site and then edit will go through, I believe. Certainly that's the way it works in development (except for the global resx, I think)
4. Are there any other issues that you have run into when using .resx files?
Besides being really annoying to maintain, and the fact that visual studio doesn't provide the neatest tools for working with them...no.

I recently used a .resx file with 5 million strings (normal length, like this sentence), compiled in different DLLS about 1 GB in size. It still works fine in an Azure web project.
The load time is unknown, maybe few seconds or so, since it always can heat up in stages, I never noticed it.

We have been using resource files on a relatively large .NET Windows Forms application (over 500 various forms, approximately 20 resource strings per form) and we've had no performance issues regarding resources from .resx files.
We have used Babylon.NET as a tool for managing translations (has a free version just for translators).
You did not specify if your project will be web or desktop application. One functionality that resource files offers for desktop applications is the ability to also localize control positions and size which IMHO is not possible using other tools (unless you are using something like DevExpress layout control which has automatic sizing).

Never seen any problems with resx resources, they are being cached perfectly. We have used them in WinForms, asp.net mvc, wpf, etc...
One thing you should do is use the Microsoft MAT (Multilingual App Toolkit) extension for Visual Studio.
You can control your translations, export them to send to translators (e.g. not the locked translations), import them again and verify them or comment on it, recycle existing translations (saving you a lot of time!)
and it works with the industry standard xlf format!
If you sign up with the Azure api you can even automatically translate resources (you have a few thousand words free of monthly credit on azure).
See: https://multilingualapptoolkit.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/1167898-microsoft-translator-moves-to-the-azure-portal
you can even see how much work already has been done in a project:
Oh and it comes with a handy editor which your translators can also use!
To get started:
install the MAT Visual Studio extension
Go to your project in Visual Studio
Click Properties --> open AssemblyInfo.cs
Add this attribute: [assembly: System.Resources.NeutralResourcesLanguage("en")]
Select your project in Solution Explorer and to in Visual Studio to [Tools] --> [Multilingual App Toolkit] --> [Enable selection]
This will add a new folder "MultilingualResources" to your project
Right mouse click your project --> [Multilingual App Toolkit] --> [Add translation languages…] --> select the language you want to translate (e.g. Dutch).
In the "MultilingualResources" folder you will see a new file "....nl.xlf", double click it, it will open with the Multilingual Editor. (if not right mouse click and change the default "Open With" to the multilingual editor)
Now you only add strings to your default Resources.resx file (the language should be same as the "NeutralResourcesLanguage" you added in AssemblyInfo.cs.
For the translations you DONT add strings to the ...nl.resx files, you work with the .xlf files, located in the MultiLingualResources folder.
(after you have done lots of translations, a rebuild might be needed so that the translated .xlf files update the translated .resx files)
Where to get it:
feedback: https://multilingualapptoolkit.uservoice.com/
visual studio extension: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=MultilingualAppToolkit.MultilingualAppToolkit-18308
knowledge base: https://multilingualapptoolkit.uservoice.com/knowledgebase
github of Cameron (Microsoft) who manages this project: https://github.com/TheMATDude

I have had two problems with resource files, both about performance of the translators (people), rather than the speed of string lookup.
The sales staff at the oversee office
that did the translators could not
cope with editing XML or learning any
new tool.
So they just used Excel to edit the translations. Therefore, we might as well have stored the translated strings as a CVS file, so avoiding having to copy the translated strings into the resource files.
A new build needs to be done so as to
see the effect of any translations.
Once again if the translated strings were stored as a CSV file, we could have cached them in the ASP.NET cache. Then any changes to the translations would show up on the next page load.
So we could have used a custom implementation of the resource provider and keep to the standard ASP.NET resource lookup system. Or just ignore the standard resource lookup system if it does not help in your case – it depends on how your pages are written.
You may find at some point that you wish to be able to override strings for a single customer, if so you will need a multi-stage lookup system. Otherwise, you have to merge the customer’s custom strings with the translated string each time you ship a new version of the system.

For point#4.
I have been using .resx files for all strings on our site that must be localized into many languages and haven't had any major issues with them.
The one thing that you need to think about is if you want this text to be searchable. For some of the sites I work on there are some localized resources that need to be searchable so I must keep them in the database. However, when I have the choice I prefer the .resx file for similar reasons mentioned above.

I will simply add that you should look for custom implementations (or do you own) of the resource provider (provider model like the membership provider) to store your resources in a database. That's what we did for our CMS, and it's very useful.
When we first looked for an example back then we found Creating a Data Driven ASP.NET Localization Resource Provider and Editor.

Here is my take on resource files:
I would assume that if there is a LARGE amount of string, that using a database might be the best method to allow for searching and sorting of the data. It would probably not be too difficult to account for multiple languages in a resource table, and the speed should best fast.
I would think that this is a good method for storing static resources, or things that might be changed by a client. As for dynamic resources, it might be better to use a database, either alone, or in conjunction with the file system. I think in the new SQL Server there is a new type that is an optimal hybrid of using a database and the file system.
I read in another question (don't know which) that using resource files in an external project is a good practice, because you wouldn't have to recompile an entire project when resources change. Just recompile the resource project. This would also allow for (fairly) easy edits to be made by clients, where they would only need to "source code" for the resource project, and not your other real code (API code, etc.).
I have not used resource files enough to make any claims about their reliability, extensibility, or any potential issues that you might have when working with them.

I've been using resource files in a .net razor page app after dumping our previous proxy server that used a custom regular expression language to replace strings as they passed through the proxy.
We dumped the proxy method as it was more suited to large strings (paragraphs) and pretty awkward for all the dynamic fragments and stuff we had.
Had no problem at all and it's faster so far than the proxy server. I store all the target pages, comments, names, en and all other available languages in a DB..trivial to add a new column for a new language.
We have about 5k entries in multiple resx files so far
I then use a builder process to create all the resx files and place them in the correct local and global folders any time something is updated.
Dead easy to build a simple interface for translators to search for pages, languages, comments, names etc and update. We choose not to auto rebuild the resx files on a change but you could if you trust your translators ;)
We also allow translators to add new fragments/text to translate but as yet we've not had any bright ideas on how to include them automatically and have to manually substitute the string in the source file and recompile.
For editing resx files I've used zeta,
https://www.zeta-resource-editor.com/index.html
Which can open all your languages in one go and highlights differences in placeholders and also missing translations. You can edit all the languages on one row and save all the files in one go. We don't use it now as everything is in the DB but recommend it.

Windows.Form c# without visual studio

I am trying to learn Windows.Forms, and while I have Visual Studio (edit, my mistake obviously), I feel that I learn much more effectively by doing everything in Notepad. I have searched everywhere for a tutorial that takes this approach. I finally got started with http://www.geekpedia.com/tutorial33_Windows-forms-programming.html, but after the first example, it too begins working with multiple files? somehow generated with Visual Studio. How can I do this in Notepad? Can anyone point me somewhere helpful?
Thanks!
**While the overwhelming response seems seems strongly against this and I started to be convinced, I saw SmokingRope talking about it being as simple as writing all classes into one file. This is what I have been doing up till now for sizable, just non Windows.Form projects into. Can you maybe help explain how those necessary files can be included using this method?*

Seriously... I admire your fire, but you are out of your mind! What you can possibly hope to learn about .NET with NotePad that you couldn't learn a zillion times faster with Visual Studio? It's like asking, "I want to learn to drive a car. I have put wheels on my couch. What should I do next?"
I mean no disrespect, but make friends with Visual Studio and get busy learning. You're wasting your time otherwise.

It is actually quite easy to code C# outside of the IDE. It will basically come down to using the csc.exe compiler from the command line prompt.
The hardest part of this process is making sure the environment variables are correctly configure and Microsoft provides the vsvars32.bat batch file to do exactly that.
Here is a short tutorial on how to do use this batch file and the compiler from the command line: http://www.zeusedit.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1235
And an even better, but slightly more complicate approach is to use MsBuild utility to manage the building of the project: http://www.zeusedit.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2518
Finally you can even use the external C# Debugger to debug you programs: http://www.zeusedit.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2507

Your best approach is really to learn how to write code from within Visual Studio. You gain a lot of coding assistance (IntelliSense, syntax checking, etc.) that will help you learn the language.
If you really want to use Notepad, then you create as few or as many files as you want and then compile them in to an assembly using the command line compiler by listing each file as an input to the compiler.
The reality of this is that using notepad and the command line compiler is possible but very cumbersome and almost never used outside of showing simple "Hello, world" type examples.

I am going against the grain here... But I think that your idea is not such a bad one... especially for a small project.
But using Notepad (or at LEAST use Notepad++) will teach you more about MSBuild and the VBC or CSC compiler syntax than it will teach you about the language features. The best way to learn the language, is, as other have said, using Visual Studio. The intellisense is a great way to learn.
But it also makes us lazy and it is true that we don't have to memorize as much...and sometimes having things memorized comes in handy. (ie.... I am at a customer and logged in remotely to the servers... no visual studio is installed... BUT... yippee... .NET 2 is there... at that moment you will have appreciated the exercise...)
Honestly, to do this for a reasonably small project I think would be a good exercise in learning. I say go for it. Hell, I might even join you.
But, that said, I think the very best way to do it would be to use both methods side-by-side. For example... If you want to use multiple files the way to do that is to create a folder and put an vbproj (or csproj) file in it. MSBuild.exe receives vbproj files (and sln files for that matter) as arguments. So, one of the quickest ways to learn the vbproj file syntax is to use visual studio to create a project... and then open the vbproj file in Notepad++.
The problem is that Visual Studio IS SO AWESOME BECAUSE it abstracts so much away from the developer. But it is silly to not acknowledge there is a downside to that. That abstraction means that we don't need to have as deep an understanding. Things just work automagically. So I say dig a little deeper. I don't think you will regret it.

Assuming that the thing you want to avoid is magically-generated-code and visual designers, you can just open the System.Windows.Forms namespace and start coding against the APIs. Start with that first example, and then programmatically add buttons and textboxes and whatnot. You don't have to create a forms project or work with the designers, you can just 'write code' in VS and turn off all the magic.
If you're looking for example code, you might consider looking at F# samples, e.g. the UI stuff at
http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/fsharpsamples
for ideas of a few basic controls you can add to forms to do basic UI stuff.

You can write multiple classes in a single C# file (despite the generally accepted best-practice of putting one class per file):
using System;
namespace Test{
class Class1{ }
class Class2{ }
}
You also could look into how the MSBuild system works from the commandline. I believe you will still have to maintain a project file (xml type syntax, use visual studio to create a project and then open that in notepad for an example) but i don't have any experience with it personally.
It's possible to do it all from notepad and the command prompt. You will probably find it to be a little more time consuming however.

If you want to learn c# and winforms, part of the skill set you need is being proficient in Visual Studio.
You can do things in Notepad for awhile (I wrote some web services in notepad once because I didn't have VS available), but eventually you will want to take advantage of the tools available in VS.

I highly recommend you use Visual Studio (Microsoft offers free Express versions that will meet your needs). Learning the syntax of the language is wonderful, but you must be able to work within the VS environment to be truly successful in C# (and any of the .NET languages). It benefits you more to do it right and learn it all together rather than try and piece it together later. Just my own two cents.

Just to repeat what's already said, again with no disrespect, you are not going to learn .NET in notepad. It's just not probable. Not only are you not be productive, but you're also not going to learn the tools used in the industry, best practices, and other important factors about .NET. It's not just about sitting down and writing code. By limiting yourself to notepad, it's like limiting yourself to one meal a month: you lack the nutrition needed to keep moving forward at a good pace.
Utilize the tools and resources available to you. Limiting yourself like that is a kick in the rear end.

Use sharpdevelop (Windows) or monodevelop (*nix). Both have Windows.Form support. Although they dont offer as much as VS, they'll at least get you started. I've never used the VS Express edition, so I don't know what it's limitations are.

Note that notepad is not even the equal of vi not to speak of vim.
If you want to use a text editor then you could try it but I don't see the point of using notepad. Use a real text editor, not necessarily vim/emacs, you could pick a nice gui text editor like notepad++ or kate.
Notepad can't even display unix line endings(I think).

Go download an Express edition of Visual Studio. I understand the possibility of thoroughly learning this via notepad, but with a free IDE out there, it makes no sense.

if u have something against MS or VS.net u can try sharpdevelop
http://www.icsharpcode.net/OpenSource/SD/
last time i looked it was xcopy deployable :)

I don't know where to find tutorials, but the approach is pretty straightforward: import System.Windows.Forms, derive a class from Form, and give it a .Show(). Your components are members of the class, and can be positioned using their respective position/size properties. Events are handled through delegates.
I do see where this technique is useful, though I'd use a decent IDE instead of Notepad. .NET is just too prolific. Knowing how to construct forms on the fly can come in handy.
If you're looking for an alternate IDE, check out icSharpCode's SharpDevelop.
Also, look into JScript.NET tutorials - there is no forms editor for that language, as inheritance simply isn't possible. But it's still based on .NET, so the basic motions are the same. Here's a decent one:
http://www.webreference.com/js/column117/

I know this is answered by strangely I haven't seen anyone talk about NAnt.
For years I developed in TextPad, with some syntax highlighting, + NAnt to do my builds. These days it'd be even easier as you can have your buildserver prep a proper msbuild for you (CC.NET + NAnt).
I also learned about a few things that physically couldn't do in Visual Studio (at the time it was .net 1.1). Definitely a good experience, and I'd recommend it really. Probably not for winforms though, because the designer is actually useful for that.

i am a notepad user. :) i don't have visual studio installed on my computer.
this is what im doing.
1st u must register your .net framework folder on Environmen Variables.. Path
or run on CMD this lines
path=%path%;(this is where ur .net framework address were)
(ex path=%path%;C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319)
then hit enter
2nd to compile a single notepad(save as .cs), locate the destination of the file using cmd. then. type "csc nameOfCS.cs"
for multi file.. "csc ManinCsForname.cs classes.cs classes.cs"
it will compile as exe.
for more command.
"csc /?"
its ok to use Visual Studio. but if you want to become more familiar with C# and structure. or can make a system on any PC. without using any IDE. u can do this.

Not using Notepad will help. Crimson Editor or TextPad or others have line numbering, syntax highlighting and many features you'd need. I'm sure Notepad has file size limitations which you might run into.
The sans-IDE element I can only fully answer from a Java point of view. I've done a fair amount of Java UI development using Crimson Editor, the Java SDK, batch files and/or either ANT or Maven at times. If you developing UI code that's generic or does a fair amount in dynamically then its ok. If your work involves designing many different specific Forms (i.e. screens that have many customer forms and aren't subject too much reuse) then the Designer features of the IDE are extremely useful.
However, I have found .NET IDE development a little frustrating coming from the above model of Java development.