Locale test program exception

Question

Hi,
I wrote a simple program to help me learn about using locales and currency in java. The program worked file for the default locale, but gives an exception when I pass it a US locale. I expect this is something very simple that I've done wrong but it escapes me for now. I'm hoping someone here can help.
Here is the code and output:
import java.util.*;
import java.text.*;
public class LocaleTest {
private static void showLocaleInfo(Locale theLocale) {
System.out.println("Country: "+ theLocale.getCountry()+" "+theLocale.getDisplayCountry());
Double currencyValue = new Double(9876543.61);
String currencyOut;
NumberFormat currencyFormatter = NumberFormat.getCurrencyInstance(theLocale);
currencyOut = currencyFormatter.format(currencyValue);
System.out.println(currencyOut + " " +      theLocale.toString());
Currency currencyInstance = Currency.getInstance(theLocale);
int intDP = currencyInstance.getDefaultFractionDigits();
System.out.println(intDP);
public static void main(String[] args) {
Locale usLocale = new Locale("US","en");
Locale defLocale = Locale.getDefault();
showLocaleInfo(defLocale);
showLocaleInfo(usLocale);
Country: JP 日本
￥9,876,544 ja_JP
0
Country: EN EN
?9,876,544 us_EN
java.lang.IllegalArgumentException
at java.util.Currency.getInstance(Currency.java:257)
at LocaleTest.showLocaleInfo(LocaleTest.java:26)
at LocaleTest.main(LocaleTest.java:40)
Exception in thread "main"
The problem would appear to be in the way the US locale is initialized... maybe. Help please!
Iain

Answer 1

Hi,
I've read it, and have been recommending that document to everyone anyway. It's an interesting read and essential information for people on the internationalization trail like myself.
One thing I wasn't sure about after reading your article, is which you consider preferable, directly referencing a font name (like the arial unicode one) in your programs, or using logical font names. The alternatives are well presented and explained, but I was left wondering, if you were pinned down and had to make one recommendation, what would it be?
As far as I can tell, the best thing would be to store font names in resource bundles (the name can be logical or physical) and never refer to a font name directly in your application code.
I don't know if there is any potential problem with this.
regards
iain