Not getting currency symbols for specific Locale

Question

I am trying to get the symbols of the currencies based on their Locale. But instead of returning a symbol, it is returning the code. I have a snippet:

import java.util.Currency; import java.util.Locale;  public class CurrencyFormat {   public void displayCurrencySymbols()    {    Currency currency = Currency.getInstance(Locale.US);     System.out.println("United States: " + currency.getSymbol());   }    public static void main(String[] args)   {     new CurrencyFormat().displayCurrencySymbols();   } } 

For Locale.US it is giving symbol $ but If I replace

Currency currency = Currency.getInstance(Locale.US);  

with

Currency currency = Currency.getInstance(Locale.GERMANY);  

Then instead of symbol it is giving the country code. Why is this and how we can get the symbols?

EDIT : After looking some answer I would like to clear that setting some specific default local is not a solution as I need all the avalaible sign displayed at once.

e.g.

 Locale.setDefault(Locale.UK);  

will give me the euro sign but for doller it will give the code instead of doller sign($).

Answer 1

hi please try the following code

import java.text.NumberFormat; import java.util.Comparator; import java.util.Currency; import java.util.Locale; import java.util.SortedMap; import java.util.TreeMap;  public class CurrencyExample {     public static void main(String[] args)      {          Utils.getCurrencySymbol( Currency.getInstance(Locale.US).getCurrencyCode());          Utils.getCurrencySymbol(Currency.getInstance(Locale.JAPAN).getCurrencyCode());          Utils.getCurrencySymbol(Currency.getInstance(Locale.UK).getCurrencyCode());          Utils.getCurrencySymbol("INR");     } }  class Utils{       public static SortedMap<Currency, Locale> currencyLocaleMap;       static {           currencyLocaleMap = new TreeMap<Currency, Locale>(new Comparator<Currency>() {             public int compare(Currency c1, Currency c2){                 return c1.getCurrencyCode().compareTo(c2.getCurrencyCode());             }         });         for (Locale locale : Locale.getAvailableLocales()) {              try {                  Currency currency = Currency.getInstance(locale);              currencyLocaleMap.put(currency, locale);              }catch (Exception e){          }         }     }      public static String getCurrencySymbol(String currencyCode) {         Currency currency = Currency.getInstance(currencyCode);         System.out.println( currencyCode+ ":-" + currency.getSymbol(currencyLocaleMap.get(currency)));         return currency.getSymbol(currencyLocaleMap.get(currency));     } } 

The output of above program is like that:

USD:-$ JPY:-￥ GBP:-£ INR:-Rs. 

Answer 2

You are seeing what Java thinks users in your default locale expect to see for a currency symbol. This is also confirmed by the Javadocs for getSymbol():

Gets the symbol of this currency for the default locale. For example, for the US Dollar, the symbol is "$" if the default locale is the US, while for other locales it may be "US$". If no symbol can be determined, the ISO 4217 currency code is returned.

By changing your default locale:

Locale.setDefault(Locale.UK); // e.g. 

You can experiment to prove this for yourself. (Note: I'm not suggesting this is a solution, merely an opportunity for you to check what other locales see).

I would recommend you stick with whatever Java thinks is appropriate for your default locale - I'm sure it's understandable by your users.

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It might seem attractive to seek the "normal" currency symbol for every currency, however take a look at the following currency list: http://www.xe.com/symbols.php.

Look how many countries recognise their currency with a $ symbol. Egypt also uses the British pound symbol (£). The whole idea behind the locale currency symbol is to give you a string that users in your locale will understand.