Chapter 30. System.Globalization
The System.Globalization namespace provides classes
that assist in localization of applications based on language and
culture. The CultureInfo class is the primary container for
a set of resources that is used for a specified language and culture
implementation. It describes how strings are sorted, the specifics
of calendars and date and time formats, as well as language and
dialect code pages. An application obtains its culture information
based on either the CultureInfo specified by the current thread or
from the user or local machine’s preferences. Specific cultural
information is contained in resource files deployed in satellite assemblies. System.Resources.ResourceManager marshals these resource files
into System.Resources.ResourceSets that provide
the objects and methods specific to a localization.
The System.Globalization namespace provides
a base Calendar class, as well
as specific calendar implementations for major cultures. CompareInfo
defines how string comparison and sorting are handled. DateTimeFormatInfo
defines how DateTime values are formatted, and NumberFormatInfo defines various formatting
styles, such as currency symbols and decimal and grouping separators.
Figure 30-1 shows the types in this namespace.

Figure 30-1. The System.Globalization namespace