Thursday, March 25, 2021

Getting Localized Day and Month Names

If you need to get a localized day or month name (such as "Thursday" or "March" in English, which are "Donnerstag" and "März" in German), there are Windows API calls that can help you but they can be complicated to use. This is especially true if you need the localized names in a language other than the one the user's machine is configured for. We have numerous customers that have their machine configured to use, for example, German, but want these names displayed in English.

wwDotNetBridge and .NET to the rescue. Pass this function a date or datetime value, the type of name wanted (see the comments in the code for the values; for example, use 2 for an abbreviated name such as "Thu" for "Thursday"), and a BCP-47 language code such as "en-US" for U.S. English or "de-DE" for Germany German. For example, to put a list of English month names into an array, use something like:

dimension laMonths[12]
for lnI = 1 to 12
laMonths[lnI] = GetDateName(date(2021, lnI, 1), 3, 'en-US')
next

Here's the code for the GetDateName function. It assumes the files for wwDotNetBridge are in place:

function GetDateName(tuDate, tnType, tcCulture)
local loBridge, lcFormat, loCulture, lcReturn
do wwDotNetBridge
loBridge = GetwwDotNetBridge()
do case
case tnType = 1
&& day
lcFormat = '{0:dddd}'
case tnType = 2
&& abbreviated day
lcFormat = '{0:ddd}'
case tnType = 3
&& month
lcFormat = '{0:MMMM}'
case tnType = 4
&& abbreviated month
lcFormat = '{0:MMM}'
endcase
loCulture = loBridge.CreateInstance('System.Globalization.CultureInfo', ;
tcCulture)
lcReturn = loBridge.InvokeStaticMethod('System.String', 'Format', loCulture, ;
lcFormat, tuDate)
return lcReturn

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Time to Register for Virtual Fox Fest

Thanks to all who have already registered for Virtual FoxFest (May 6, 2021); we appreciate your support and our speakers are excited to share their sessions with you soon.

That said, we know there are those who have not registered and have good intentions to do so before the conference starts. Please do so sooner than later. It literally takes minutes to register. Here is the link: http://geekgatherings.com/Registration

Our Virtual Fox Fest shirt store has been updated for 2021! Check it out at https://geekgatherings.logosoftwear.com/. You can choose your favorite color or put the VFF logo on any item LogoSoftwear sells. You’ll find instructions for customizing your purchase at https://virtualfoxfest.com/geekwear.aspx.

After much consideration, we’ve decided to stick with a virtual event this fall. It will be structured similarly to Virtual Fox Fest 2020. Dates will be announced later. We’re already looking forward to a live Southwest Fox in 2022.