Basic Steps in Internationalization

An internationalized application's executable image is portable between languages and regions. To internationalize software, you should:

• Use the interfaces described in this book to create software whose environment can be modified dynamically without the necessity of recompiling the software.

• Separate software into executable and messages. The messages include all printable and displayable messages that the user sees. Keep the message strings in a message catalog.

Message strings are translated for a language and a region. A locale includes the message strings and methods to specify sorting.

Locales are not the same as a language. A language may contain various regions. For example, French is spoken in France and Canada, but each country has different ways of displaying monetary and time information.

To use a localized version of a product, the user sets the environment variables (described in "Locale Categories "). The product then displays the user messages in their translated form. , , Date, time, currency and other information is formatted and displayed according to locale-specific conventions.