Storage of Localized Text

Text strings in each language should be stored outside of the application and in directories that are identified by locale names. These strings are stored in three types of files: resource files, message catalogs, and private files.

Resource files and message catalogs are both files that deliver text strings. Resource files are compiled when they are loaded and message catalogs are precompiled and ready to be accessed. Any application should be codeset-independent and include support for any multibyte codeset. Private files can be databases of information that include some text strings. Ideally, text strings should be in resource files or message catalogs. If text strings are supplied in a private file, then you should develop a tool to extract and replace text strings.