Set the Extension Name and Localization Resources

When you develop extensions, the vSphere Client can appear in different languages in different locales. You can set the information that appears in the vSphere Client, for example, the extension name, as resources that can be translated.

You provide the information that requires translation in an ExtensionResourceInfo data object. You can add an ExtensionResourceInfo object for every locale that your extension supports. You set an array of ExtensionResourceInfo objects in the resourceList property of the Extension instance that defines your extension.

You provide onscreen messages and labels to ExtensionResourceInfo in a key and value pairing that you add to a KeyValue array in the ExtensionResourceInfo data property. You can set the values for the KeyValue pair directly in the ExtensionResourceInfo object, or you can refer to entries in resource files that contain the message text in different languages, according to the locale in which vSphere is running.

You provide a two-character ISO-639 language ID for the KeyValue locale property, and set the module property to the type of resource to which this locale applies. For example, you can set the module value to task, event, auth, or extension, depending on whether the messages that the resource contains relate to tasks, events, privileges, or extensions.

Prerequisites

Download the vSphere ESX Agent Manager SDK.

Procedure

Create an instance of the ExtensionResourceInfo data object.

For example, in MyManager.java you can instantiate ExtensionResourceInfo in the implementation of Extension.

private Extension createExtensionObject() {
    Extension extension = new Extension();
    [...]
    ExtensionResourceInfo extensionResourceInfo = new ExtensionResourceInfo();
    [...]
}

Set the locale and module properties for the ExtensionResourceInfo object.

For example, in MyManager.java you can set the default locale to en and apply this locale to the Extension instance, extension.

private Extension createExtensionObject() {
    Extension extension = new Extension();
    [...]
    ExtensionResourceInfo extensionResourceInfo = new ExtensionResourceInfo();
    extensionResourceInfo.setLocale("en");
    extensionResourceInfo.setModule("extension");
    [...]
}

Provide the data to the ExtensionResourceInfo in the form of a KeyValue array.

The label property is a property of the Description object, that Extension implements, and defines the name of the extension as it appears in the vSphere Client.

For example, in MyManager.java you can add the text My Solution as the value of the label property.

private Extension createExtensionObject() {
    Extension extension = new Extension();
    [...]
    ExtensionResourceInfo extensionResourceInfo = new ExtensionResourceInfo();
    extensionResourceInfo.setLocale("en");
    extensionResourceInfo.setModule("extension");
    KeyValue keyValue = new KeyValue();
    keyValue.setKey(EXTENSION_KEY + ".label");
    keyValue.setValue("My Solution");
    [...]
}

Call the ExtensionResourceInfo.getData() method to add the KeyValue array that contains the localization data to the data property of the ExtensionResourceInfo object.

private Extension createExtensionObject() {
    Extension extension = new Extension();
    [...]
    ExtensionResourceInfo extensionResourceInfo = new ExtensionResourceInfo();
    extensionResourceInfo.setLocale("en");
    extensionResourceInfo.setModule("extension");
    KeyValue keyValue = new KeyValue();
    keyValue.setKey(EXTENSION_KEY + ".label");
    keyValue.setValue("My Solution");
    extensionResourceInfo.getData().add(keyValue);
    [...]
}

(Optional) Add another KeyValue object to the ExtensionResourceInfo data property that adds a description of the extension for a given locale.

For example, you can add the following description to MyManager.java in a KeyValue object named keyValue_summary.

private Extension createExtensionObject() {
    Extension extension = new Extension();
    [...]
    ExtensionResourceInfo extensionResourceInfo = new ExtensionResourceInfo();
    extensionResourceInfo.setLocale("en");
    extensionResourceInfo.setModule("extension");
    KeyValue keyValue = new KeyValue();
    keyValue.setKey(EXTENSION_KEY + ".label");
    keyValue.setValue("My Solution");

    KeyValue keyValue_summary = new KeyValue();
    keyValue_summary.setKey(EXTENSION_KEY + ".summary");
    keyValue_summary.setValue("This is a brief description of My Solution.");

    extensionResourceInfo.getData().add(keyValue);
    extensionResourceInfo.getData().add(keyValue_summary);
    [...]
}

Call the Extension.getResourceList() method to pass the ExtensionResourceInfo object to the Extension instance.

private Extension createExtensionObject() {
    Extension extension = new Extension();
    [...]
    ExtensionResourceInfo extensionResourceInfo = new ExtensionResourceInfo();
    extensionResourceInfo.setLocale("en");
    extensionResourceInfo.setModule("extension");
    KeyValue keyValue = new KeyValue();
    keyValue.setKey(EXTENSION_KEY + ".label");
    keyValue.setValue("My Solution");

    KeyValue keyValue_summary = new KeyValue();
    keyValue_summary.setKey(EXTENSION_KEY + ".summary");
    keyValue_summary.setValue("This is a brief description of My Solution.");

    extensionResourceInfo.getData().add(keyValue);
    extensionResourceInfo.getData().add(keyValue_summary);

    extension.getResourceList().add(extensionResourceInfo);
    [...]
}

(Optional) Add more ExtensionResourceInfo instances to provide localized text that displays when the extension runs in different locales.

For example, you can add an ExtensionResourceInfo instance to MyManager.java to provide a French translation of the extension name.

private Extension createExtensionObject() {
    Extension extension = new Extension();
    [...]
    ExtensionResourceInfo extensionResourceInfo = new ExtensionResourceInfo();
    extensionResourceInfo.setLocale("en");
    extensionResourceInfo.setModule("extension");
    KeyValue keyValue = new KeyValue();
    keyValue.setKey(EXTENSION_KEY + ".label");
    keyValue.setValue("My Solution");

    KeyValue keyValue_summary = new KeyValue();
    keyValue_summary.setKey(EXTENSION_KEY + ".summary");
    keyValue_summary.setValue("This is a brief description of My Solution.");

    extensionResourceInfo.getData().add(keyValue);
    extensionResourceInfo.getData().add(keyValue_summary);

    ExtensionResourceInfo extensionResourceInfo_FR = new ExtensionResourceInfo();
    extensionResourceInfo_FR.setLocale("fr");
    extensionResourceInfo_FR.setModule("extension");
    KeyValue keyValue_FR = new KeyValue();
    keyValue_FR.setKey(EXTENSION_KEY + ".label");
    keyValue_FR.setValue("Ceci est une brève description de Ma solution.");

    extensionResourceInfo_FR.getData().add(keyValue_FR);

    extension.getResourceList().add(extensionResourceInfo);
    extension.getResourceList().add(extensionResourceInfo_FR);
    [...]
}

(Optional) Save your changes, build, and deploy your solution.
If you edit the label value, the extension appears in vCenter Server Extensions with the new name. If you added an ExtensionResourceInfo object for a different locale, the localized text that you added appears in vCenter Server Extensions when you connect your solution to a vCenter Server instance that runs in that locale.

Results

You added localizable message resources to the extension, so that onscreen messages and labels that your extension provides can appear in different languages in different locales.