Software Internationalization Guide

Software Internationalization Guide—526225-002
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Understanding Internationalization
Concepts
The opening of global markets and the increasing use of computers throughout the
world make it essential that companies meet the needs of global business as cost-
effectively as possible. Internationalizing computer applications is a key part of the
HP GeoReady strategy to address global business requirements.
This section discusses the need for software internationalization, defines terms
associated with internationalization, gives an overview of internationalization and
localization, introduces issues associated with internationalization, and introduces the
HP internationalization subsystem of the Open System Services (OSS) environment.
Why Internationalize Software?
Technology has reached nations that once did not need software, opening many
opportunities for marketing software internationally. As the world’s market changes,
companies must prepare to fill the needs of the global customer. Software that adapts
easily to multiple languages and cultures has the greatest chance of global success,
because English-based systems are increasingly unsuitable for an international
audience.
If done properly, internationalizing software can reduce development and maintenance
costs. A single internationalized version of the product accommodates the needs of
most languages and cultures and eliminates the need for developing and maintaining
numerous versions of source code and executable files.
Internationalization increases the life span of all versions of a product. It has been
common practice to release a version of a product in the source country several
months before releasing a localized version in target countries. A single product that is
capable of accommodating a variety of users enables releasing a product to all
destinations at the same time.
What Is Internationalization?
Internationalization is the process of developing or modifying software applications
without making assumptions about the language, cultural data, and encoding methods
that the applications are expected to handle. Internationalized applications support
new languages, cultures, and code sets without requiring changes to the source code.
Most existing applications rely heavily on the language and culture of the environment
in which they were developed, and do not support different languages, cultures, and
code sets. An internationalized application cannot be based on culturally dependent
information—it must be able to operate according to the language and customs of its
users, and it must be able to operate with different code sets.