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Language

This topic is part of Global Deployment Terminology.

The language for a Siebel application can mean multiple things, and might involve different system or application elements. These elements are independent from the language of the data that the user enters in the Siebel database. You must install seed data according to how you want to use languages in the Siebel applications.

Primary Language, Active Language, and Resource Language

The term language has the following major meanings with respect to Siebel Business Applications:

• The primary language (sometimes called the base language) is the first language installed for this Siebel product installation, particularly the first language installed in the Siebel database.

  NOTE:  In general, the term primary language refers to the first language installed in the Siebel database. Sometimes this phrase also refers to the language for Siebel Enterprise Server messages and logging, which is specified during installation and initial configuration. For most deployments, these would be the same language. See also the Siebel Installation Guide for the operating system you are using.

• The active language is the language in effect for an individual user's session and the language of user interface elements, including multilingual lists of values (MLOVs) that have been enabled. The same language is used for system messages (if the resource language is not separately defined).
  • For a Siebel Web Client session, the language is determined by the Application Object Manager component that is invoked through the specified URL. This language cannot be changed by the user, except by logging in to a different language-specific Application Object Manager where the language is installed and available. The URL includes the language code.
  • For the Siebel Mobile Web Client or Developer Web Client, the user can explicitly specify the language to use for an application session by double-clicking the corresponding shortcut, where the language is installed and available.
• The resource language, if it is defined, is used as the default language for system messages.

Languages and Siebel Installations and Upgrades

Installing Siebel Language Packs on the Siebel Server (or on other Siebel components) installs the language-specific run-time environment: Siebel repository (SRF) files, resource libraries such as DLL files, configuration (CFG) files, error messages, help files, and so on. In general, you install the same languages on all of the components in your Siebel Enterprise. For more information, see Scenarios for Installing and Deploying Siebel Languages.

When you install the Siebel database for a new installation, language-specific seed data is added for the primary language only. For multilingual deployments, you must add seed data for additional languages separately after your initial Siebel database installation.

When you upgrade the Siebel database from a prior Siebel version, all of the existing languages are upgraded at the same time. For more information, see Siebel Database Upgrade Guide.

The languages allowed in data are constrained only by the character encoding of the database platform. For example, although a user might be using a U.S. English version of a Siebel application with a Western European code page database, the user can enter or view contact data in French, because all French characters are representable in the Western European code page.

With a Unicode code page, and appropriate fonts locally installed, languages using dissimilar scripts, such as French and Japanese, can be used together.

Language Codes

Each language code used by Siebel Business Applications uses a three-letter code, such as ENU for U.S. English, FRA for French, THA for Thai, and so on. Using language codes with only two characters does not work and is not supported.

NOTE:  For a list of the languages supported by Siebel Business Applications, and their language codes, see 1513102.1 (Article ID) on My Oracle Support. They are also listed in Table 9. Special requirements apply when you localize an unshipped language, as noted in Localizing an Unshipped Language.

Languages and Application Development and Deployment

For application development using Siebel Tools, you set the language mode to work with object definitions for a particular language. The language of an SRF file is determined by the language mode in effect when the SRF file was compiled. For information about the language mode in Siebel Tools and how to set it, see Using Siebel Tools.

Although one Application Object Manager component can support only one language and one SRF file, multiple Application Object Managers can run at the same time on the same Siebel Server, each configured for a different language, and therefore using a different SRF file.

Additional Information

The following contain more information about language deployment for Siebel applications:

• Scenarios for Installing and Deploying Siebel Languages
• About Parameters for Language and Locale
• Creating Language and Locale Records
• Siebel Installation Guide for the operating system you are using
• For Siebel language support, Unicode support, and legacy code page support, see 1513102.1 (Article ID) on My Oracle Support