Character Set

A group of characters (alphanumeric, text, or special) usually associated with one or more languages or scripts (writing systems). There are many character sets used in the computing industry.

Character sets are identified by a character set name, such as Western European or Latin 1. These names are not well-standardized and many character sets have multiple names. However, you can use formal identifiers to clearly specify a character set when necessary.

See also About Supported Character Sets.

Character Set Encoding

Also known as character encoding. A specific computer representation of a character set. Some character sets can have multiple encodings—for example, Western European or Latin 1 is encoded differently in ISO 8859-1, 8859-15, ANSI 1252 (Microsoft standard), and EBCDIC. Unicode also comes in different encodings, such as UTF-8 or UTF-16. In general, the differences in encodings are between ISO, ANSI, and EBCDIC.

Aside from Unicode, the most prominent example of a character set with multiple encodings is JIS (Japan Industrial Standard). Shift-JIS, EUC, and ISO 2022-JP are all encodings based on JIS. As with character set names, industry standardization is minimal and there are multiple names for the same encoding.

The character set encoding is also known as a code page or codepage (one word), which often refers to a vendor implementation of a character set encoding. For Microsoft Windows, the term code page is used for ANSI code page (Windows) and OEM code page (DOS), but not for ISO character sets. IBM uses a numbering system which is similar, and often identical, to Microsoft. However, IBM renumbers extensions while Microsoft does not, which can lead to references such as "Use IBM 943 with Siebel applications and MS 932; IBM 932 is an older version."

See also About Character Set Encodings and Siebel Applications.

Code Point

A single data value representing a single character in a code page.

Global Deployment

The process of installing, configuring, testing, and deploying Siebel Business Applications in more than one locale and language.

Internationalization

The process of making a software product that can correctly process data for any customer, including data entry and display, through proper locale.

For more information, see Internationalization.

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)

Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)

Internet bodies that manage, or have managed, Internet addresses, domain names and protocol parameters. IANA was replaced by ICANN, which was formed in 1998. IANA or ICANN conventions are used for the World Wide Web, email, and XML.

Language

The language or languages of the Siebel Business Applications software installed on the system.

Language Pack is another term for languages you install with Siebel Business Applications or the Siebel Database, or add to existing installations.

For more information, see Language.

Locale

A set of user preference information related to the user's language and cultural conventions, including the formatting or presentation style of data such as dates, time, numbers, and currency.

For more information, see Locale and About Date, Time, Number, and Currency Formatting.

Localization

The process of readying a product for use in a particular target country.

For more information, see Localization.

Multicurrency Support

A feature that allows automatic currency conversion and currency formatting.

For more information, see About Date, Time, Number, and Currency Formatting.

Non-Unicode (Traditional) Character Set

Non-Unicode (traditional) character sets refer to character sets other than Unicode and imply that the character set supports a restricted set of characters. Typically, a traditional character set supports the alphabet of a single language or of a collection of languages that use the same or similar alphabets.

See also About Supported Character Sets.

Platform

A platform includes the operating system of the various entities of a Siebel Business Applications deployment; the database, the Siebel Servers, and the clients and the character set used by these entities.

For more information, see Platform.

Script

A system of writing that requires graphical symbols to be placed in a certain order to communicate information. The symbols can be based on an alphabet, or on pictures of objects in the world around us, or on some other system.

The Roman script (sometimes called the Roman alphabet) is a script that uses 26 symbols to represent sounds made by the human mouth, organized into an alphabet. Originally the script used to write Latin (the language of the Romans), it has been extended with diacritics on many of the characters to express other sounds present in Western European languages.

(In a Siebel Business Applications development context, a very different meaning of the term script is a program written using a language such as Siebel eScript.)

Unicode Character Set

A character set defined by the Unicode Consortium that is the union of most of the major character sets used in the computing industry.

See also About Supported Character Sets.

Universal Time Coordinated (UTC)

Also known as coordinated universal time. A time scale defined and recommended by the International Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR), and maintained by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). The global time zone feature uses UTC.

For more information, see Deploying with Global Time Zone.