How has ResourceBundle changed in recent Java versions?

The Java ResourceBundle class has undergone several enhancements and improvements over recent Java versions. ResourceBundle is primarily used for internationalization (i18n), allowing developers to manage locale-specific objects efficiently. Here are some notable changes in recent versions:

  • Java 9: Introduced the method ResourceBundle.Control.getTimeToLive(String baseName, Locale locale) to manage the caching of resource bundles, allowing better performance in applications that dynamically load bundles.
  • Java 9: Added ResourceBundle.getBundle(String baseName, Locale locale, ClassLoader loader) to allow specifying a ClassLoader, helping with loading resources from different places more flexibly.
  • Java 11: Improved support for legacy formats and encoding, ensuring compatibility with older resource bundle formats.
  • Java 17: Continued enhancements for better performance and additional optional methods to handle specific use cases more effectively.

These changes help developers create applications that better respond to user localization preferences, improving the overall user experience.

// Example of loading a ResourceBundle ResourceBundle bundle = ResourceBundle.getBundle("messages", Locale.getDefault()); System.out.println(bundle.getString("greeting"));

ResourceBundle Java internationalization locale management Java updates