LCID: how to scaffold language dependent fields from separate tables?

Hi,

I have a problem which brings 2 technical questions.
I have a Products table with language independent values (like some ID-s, numeric and DateTime values) and ProductDetails table with language dependent values (like Name, Description, etc.).
The 2nd table has a column which identifies the language with LCID. The tables have one ot many connection. So I have only one language table no matter how many language I want to support.

The first question is how can I display data from ProductDetails depending on the current locale settings? How can I JOIN these tables in the List template view? I also have to display data from the Products table in the same gridview. So if I click on Products in Default.aspx (My tables) I should see rows from Products with values from ProductDetails on the selected language.

The secound question is how should I create a form which display input fileds for every language? This Insert/Update template view should display fields for Products table and multiple fields for different languages separated by a tabcontrol (or similar). This form should submit all values at once and insert one row to Products and several to ProductDetails.

ex.:

Category:	- select -
Manufacturer:	- select -
Item Code:	_____________
Weight:	_____________
Display:	[]

hu | en | de | fr -- (select language)

[hu] Type name:	_____________
[hu] Price:	_____________
[hu] Description:	_____________ _____________ _____________
	[SUBMIT]

Thanks.

Re: LCID: how to scaffold language dependent fields from separate tables?

Is it possible to supply a diagram of the relationships

e.g.

Product -> ProductDetails -> Language

and what fields are linked, the easyist way would be to take a snap shot of the Linq to SQL model designer and pop it on to a google picas account and then post the link here Like this:

Re: LCID: how to scaffold language dependent fields from separate tables?

FTeR
I have a problem which brings 2 technical questions.
I have a Products table with language independent values (like some ID-s, numeric and DateTime values) and ProductDetails table with language dependent values (like Name, Description, etc.).
The 2nd table has a column which identifies the language with LCID. The tables have one ot many connection. So I have only one language table no matter how many language I want to support.

Hi, another question the third table which is linked via LCID does this table contain values or just the language name?

Re: LCID: how to scaffold language dependent fields from separate tables?

Thanks for the quick answer.

Here it is, I truncated the unnecessary fields:

Here is a good article about the use of LCID in a table structure like this: http://www.codeproject.com/KB/aspnet/localizationByVivekTakur.aspx
See the last Using a Database for Localization section (he named the column CultureID).

Edit:
There is no 3rd table. The LCID came from .Net http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/reference/lcid-all.mspx

Re: LCID: how to scaffold language dependent fields from separate tables?

Right so let me see if I got this right,

<div mce_keep="true">For each product there is one record in the ProductDetail table</div>
<div mce_keep="true">For each product there are many ProductDetail entries</div>

is it 1 or 2?

Re: LCID: how to scaffold language dependent fields from separate tables?

sry, by language table I meant the ProductDetails, so there is no ProductDetails_En, ProductDetails_De, ProductDetails_Fr or so.

Re: LCID: how to scaffold language dependent fields from separate tables?

Got that, how is the language selected is it selected on each form or when the user logs on?

Re: LCID: how to scaffold language dependent fields from separate tables?

This is an administration site with Dynamic Data. So I say both.
The admin page sould display data in the prefered language (based on profile or browser settings) in lists (gridview, List.aspx), but when this admin want to upload or modify data, s/he should be able to set values for every language. For the specific fileds there should be a tabcontrol (or so), like in this forum when you Reply (there is Compose, Preview, etc.) only with the same fileds (formview?) asking for the language specific value. When the admin click on submit, than all data sould be inserted to database.

Re: LCID: how to scaffold language dependent fields from separate tables?

I assume that the number of languages is not fixed, for instance the admin could add a new language at any time.

And what about a site with say 2 products with 3 languages and one product with only one language?

Re: LCID: how to scaffold language dependent fields from separate tables?

Than there are 7 records in ProductDetails.
In lists it should list the default language value if no preffered, but it is good enough if it alwas display the default language. The matter is, how to insert/update data.

Re: LCID: how to scaffold language dependent fields from separate tables?

I have a few ideas I will look into it and get back to you. The problem is awkward not some much difficult [:D]

Re: LCID: how to scaffold language dependent fields from separate tables?

thank you [8-|]

Re: LCID: how to scaffold language dependent fields from separate tables?

Displaying the languages like below:

hu | en | de | fr

On the page are you using a table to translate form 1033 (US) or 2057(UK) to en etc or some other method

Re: LCID: how to scaffold language dependent fields from separate tables?

I have nothing so far, I copied that structure from one of my php project (I'm about to migrate it) it simple use these chars.
I think I'll use some other method (a built in property or something) or maybe I'll not make that restriction if the client whant to make differenc, then s/he have the option.

Re: LCID: how to scaffold language dependent fields from separate tables?

DynamicData would display data based on the Culture property of the page. you can programtically change the culture property based on the current language selection by the user from the "select language" option on the page.The Culture value determines the results of culture-dependent functions, such as the date, number, and currency formatting, and so on

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bz9tc508(VS.85).aspx

Re: LCID: how to scaffold language dependent fields from separate tables?

You say I sholud store UICulture values insted of LCID?

Re: LCID: how to scaffold language dependent fields from separate tables?

Hi FTeR, I've had a good look around and can't find a way to use the ajax toolkit tab container to seperate the languages on the page using either ListView or Repeater I've had a look around and can't see a simple solution to the tabs.

For showing all languages at once, I would use custome pages like here on my blog and to restrict ordinary users to their own language I woudl use this trick here and then use this code to get and set the language:

var cultureCode = CultureInfo.CurrentCulture.TwoLetterISOLanguageName;

Getting the culture two letter code

and use this sample code to get a list of posible cultures:

using System;
using System.Globalization;

namespace LCID
{
	class Program
	{
		static void Main(string[] args)
		{
			// Displays several properties of the neutral cultures.
			Console.Write("{0,-16}", "CULTURE");
			Console.Write(" {0,-3}", "ISO");
			Console.Write(" {0,-3}", "ISO");
			Console.Write(" {0,-3}", "WIN");
			Console.Write(" {0,-45}", "DISPLAYNAME");
			Console.WriteLine(" {0,-45}", "ENGLISHNAME");

			foreach (CultureInfo ci in CultureInfo.GetCultures(CultureTypes.NeutralCultures))
			{
				Console.Write("{0,-16}", ci.Name);
				Console.Write(" {0,-3}", ci.TwoLetterISOLanguageName);
				Console.Write(" {0,-3}", ci.ThreeLetterISOLanguageName);
				Console.Write(" {0,-3}", ci.ThreeLetterWindowsLanguageName);
				Console.Write(" {0,-45}", ci.DisplayName);
				Console.WriteLine(" {0,-45}", ci.EnglishName);
			}
		}
	}
}

the above is a command line app but is just a sample to get the list of culture codes

Hope this helps [:D]

Re: LCID: how to scaffold language dependent fields from separate tables?

Thank you very much!

I had a look on that Part 4 article, I do not say I understand it all, but I will try my best ;) So you say I should use a GridView for the language dependent value where every language is row?
Where were you try to use a Repeater? The answer may help me better understand the overall logic.

What should I do for the List.aspx page template? Should I list the values from ProductDetails grouped by the ProductID or list rows from Products and somehow join data from ProductDetails?

Thank you again!

Re: LCID: how to scaffold language dependent fields from separate tables?

Yes have a go and I think I have a trick for the tabs, which I'll post once I've done it [:D]

Re: LCID: how to scaffold language dependent fields from separate tables?

Hi FTer here is the tabs answer

Heres the page code:

<%@ Page Language="C#" MasterPageFile="~/Site.master" CodeFile="Edit.aspx.cs" Inherits="Edit" %>


<asp:Content ID="Content1" ContentPlaceHolderID="ContentPlaceHolder1" runat="Server">


	<asp:DynamicDataManager
runat="server"
ID="DynamicDataManager1"
AutoLoadForeignKeys="true" />
		

	<h2>Edit entry from table <%= mtProducts.DisplayName %></h2>
	

	<asp:ScriptManagerProxy
runat="server"
ID="ScriptManagerProxy1" />
	

	<asp:UpdatePanel
runat="server"
ID="UpdatePanel1">
	

		<ContentTemplate>
			<asp:ValidationSummary
runat="server"
ID="ValidationSummary1"
EnableClientScript="true"
HeaderText="List of validation errors" />
				

			<asp:DynamicValidator
runat="server" ID="DetailsViewValidator"
ControlToValidate="DetailsView1"
Display="None" />
				

			<asp:DetailsView
runat="server"
ID="DetailsView1"
DataSourceID="ldsProducts"
DefaultMode="Edit"
AutoGenerateEditButton="True"
OnItemCommand="DetailsView1_ItemCommand"
OnItemUpdated="DetailsView1_ItemUpdated"
CssClass="detailstable"
FieldHeaderStyle-CssClass="bold"
AutoGenerateRows="False">
				<FieldHeaderStyle CssClass="bold" />
				<Fields>
					<asp:DynamicField DataField="Code" />
					<asp:DynamicField DataField="Display" />
					<asp:DynamicField DataField="Inserted" />
				</Fields>
			</asp:DetailsView>
			

			<asp:LinqDataSource
runat="server"
ID="ldsProducts"
ContextTypeName="ProductsDataContext"
TableName="Products">
				<WhereParameters>
					<asp:Parameter />
				</WhereParameters>
			</asp:LinqDataSource>
			

			<h2>Tabs</h2>


			<asp:ListView ID="lvLanguages" runat="server" DataSourceID="ldsLanguages"
DataKeyNames="LCID">
			<LayoutTemplate>
				<div id="itemPlaceHolder" runat="server"></div>
			</LayoutTemplate>
			<ItemTemplate>
				<asp:LinkButton runat="server" Text='<%# Eval("LCID") %>' CommandName="Select"></asp:LinkButton>
			</ItemTemplate>
			<SelectedItemTemplate>
			 <strong><%# Eval("LCID") %></strong>
			</SelectedItemTemplate>
			</asp:ListView>
			<asp:LinqDataSource ID="ldsLanguages" runat="server"
ContextTypeName="ProductsDataContext" TableName="ProductDetails"
Where="ProductId == @ProductId">
				<WhereParameters>
					<asp:ControlParameter ControlID="DetailsView1" Name="ProductId"
PropertyName="SelectedValue" Type="Int32" />
				</WhereParameters>
			</asp:LinqDataSource>
			<br /><br />
			<asp:GridView ID="GridView1" runat="server" AutoGenerateColumns="False"
CssClass="gridview" DataKeyNames="Id" DataSourceID="ldsProductDetails">
				<Columns>
					<asp:CommandField ShowEditButton="True" />
					<asp:BoundField DataField="Type" HeaderText="Type" SortExpression="Type" />
					<asp:BoundField DataField="Price" HeaderText="Price" SortExpression="Price" />
					<asp:BoundField DataField="Description" HeaderText="Description"
SortExpression="Description" />
				</Columns>
			</asp:GridView>
			<asp:LinqDataSource ID="ldsProductDetails" runat="server"
ContextTypeName="ProductsDataContext" EnableUpdate="True"
TableName="ProductDetails" Where="LCID == @LCID">
				<WhereParameters>
					<asp:ControlParameter ControlID="lvLanguages" Name="LCID"
PropertyName="SelectedValue" Type="String" />
				</WhereParameters>
			</asp:LinqDataSource>
		</ContentTemplate>
	</asp:UpdatePanel>
</asp:Content>

heres the code behind:

using System;
using System.Web.DynamicData;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;

public partial class Edit : System.Web.UI.Page
{
	protected MetaTable mtProducts;
	protected MetaTable mtProductDetails;

	protected void Page_Init(object sender, EventArgs e)
	{
		DynamicDataManager1.RegisterControl(DetailsView1);
		DynamicDataManager1.RegisterControl(GridView1);
	}

	protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
	{
		mtProducts = ldsProducts.GetTable();
		mtProductDetails = ldsProductDetails.GetTable();
		Title = mtProducts.DisplayName;
	}

	protected void DetailsView1_ItemCommand(object sender, DetailsViewCommandEventArgs e)
	{
		if (e.CommandName == DataControlCommands.CancelCommandName)
		{
			Response.Redirect(mtProducts.ListActionPath);
		}
	}

	protected void DetailsView1_ItemUpdated(object sender, DetailsViewUpdatedEventArgs e)
	{
		if (e.Exception == null || e.ExceptionHandled)
		{
			Response.Redirect(mtProducts.ListActionPath);
		}
	}
}

And heres the FieldTemplate for LCID:

<%@ Control 
	Language="C#" 
	CodeFile="LCID_Edit.ascx.cs" 
	Inherits="LCID_EditField" %>

<asp:DropDownList 
	runat="server" 
	ID="DropDownList1" 
	CssClass="droplist" 
	ondatabound="DropDownList1_DataBound">
</asp:DropDownList>

Code Behind

using System;
using System.Collections.Specialized;
using System.Globalization;
using System.Linq;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;

public partial class LCID_EditField : System.Web.DynamicData.FieldTemplateUserControl
{
	protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
	{
		if (this.Mode == DataBoundControlMode.Insert)
		{
			BindCultureToDropdownList();
		}
	}

	protected override void OnDataBinding(EventArgs e)
	{
		base.OnDataBinding(e);

		BindCultureToDropdownList();
	}

	private void BindCultureToDropdownList()
	{
		// use linq to get a list of cultures to display in the drop down list
		var cultures = from c in CultureInfo.GetCultures(CultureTypes.NeutralCultures)
					   select new
					   {
						   Lcid = c.TwoLetterISOLanguageName,
						   Name = c.TwoLetterISOLanguageName + " - " + c.EnglishName
					   };

		// setup the drop down list
		DropDownList1.DataSource = cultures;
		DropDownList1.DataValueField = "Lcid";
		DropDownList1.DataTextField = "Name";
		DropDownList1.DataBind();
	}

	protected override void ExtractValues(IOrderedDictionary dictionary)
	{
		dictionary[Column.Name] = ConvertEditedValue(DropDownList1.SelectedValue);
	}

	public override Control DataControl
	{
		get
		{
			return DropDownList1;
		}
	}
	protected void DropDownList1_DataBound(object sender, EventArgs e)
	{
		// if there is nothing is the FieldValueString 
		// set it to the culture of the client session
		if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(FieldValueString))
		{
			DropDownList1.SelectedValue = CultureInfo.CurrentCulture.TwoLetterISOLanguageName;
		}
		else
		{
			// set the drop down list to the current vlaue
			DropDownList1.SelectedValue = FieldValueString;
		}
	}
}

***UPDATED*** fixed a bg in FieldTemplate that stopped it working in Insert mode [:$]

Hope this helps [:D]