Resource (.resx) file Key naming conventions?

Question

I'm building a C# app that will likely contain a couple resource files to store strings for use in language translation. I'm trying to come up with a naming convention for the Keys in my resouce files. Has anyone tackled this before me?

Answer 1

Just use Pascal naming convention. Dont attribute the key to a module or the class. Generalize it so that it can be reused.

Eg: ReadWriteWarningMessage

The dot separated convention works fine for menu items. But what about strings that are generated dynamically or user messages.

Answer 2

have you considered underscores like Menu_File_Open or something like Place_StringDescription? I currently employ a scheme where common stuff go to Common_ like Common_PressHereTo and view specific go to their respective place like MainMenu_FileOpen. In general, before the underscore i type where the Resource appears and after the underscore a descriptive text.

Answer 3

I try to organize it similar to the namespaces I'm using to layout the program structure. So if you have MyCompany.MyProduct.MyModule, then strings in that module would be MyModule_Blah_Blah. That way they're unique within the overall product.

Answer 4

See https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/standard/design-guidelines/naming-resources . As @bobbyalex has said, this includes using PascalCasing, since the generated resource designer file does implement the resources as properties.

✔️ DO use PascalCasing in resource keys.

✔️ DO provide descriptive rather than short identifiers.

❌ DO NOT use language-specific keywords of the main CLR languages.

✔️ DO use only alphanumeric characters and underscores in naming resources.

✔️ DO use the following naming convention for exception message resources.

The resource identifier should be the exception type name plus a short identifier of the exception:

ArgumentExceptionIllegalCharacters ArgumentExceptionInvalidName ArgumentExceptionFileNameIsMalformed

Answer 5

If you have a Name Value Pair in resources like

CloseConfirmation - Do you want to close the window without saving ?

Add a new class called Messages.

 public static class Messages
{
    public const String CloseConfirmation = "CloseConfirmation";
    public static String GetMessage( String messageId )
    {
        return //your namespace//.Properties.Resources.ResourceManager.GetString( messageId );
    }}

and to access it use

MessageBox.Show( Messages.GetMessage(Messages.CloseConfirmation));

Hope this will help.