Software Internationalization Guide

Glossary
Software Internationalization Guide—526225-002
Glossary-5
language
language. System of communication made up of words formed by combinations of patterns
and symbols and can vary depending on the people of a particular country or by
groups with a shared set of history or tradition.
Latin-based writing system. A writing system with letters that are derived from the Latin
alphabet. Not all languages that use Latin characters are related linguistically to Latin.
locale. (1)The subset of a user's environment that depends on language and cultural
conventions. It is made up of or more categories, each of which controls specific
aspects of the behavior of components of the system. Locale refers to a collection of
rules and text that represent linguistic and cultural conventions for a specific region.
(2) A standard utility that displays information about locales.
locale source file. A file containing linguistic and cultural source definitions for a locale.
localization. The process of adapting computer interfaces, data, and documentation to the
culturally accepted way of presenting information. Sometimes referred to as "L10N,"
derived from the 10 letters between the initial "L" and the final "N" of the word
"localization."
message catalog. A machine-readable file containing program messages, command
prompts, and responses to prompts for a particular language, territory, and code set.
message source files. A file containing program messages that are processed by the
gencat utility to produce a message catalog.
messaging system. A name for the process that involves separation of program messages
from program code, the generation of a message catalog, and access to messages
from the catalog.
mkcatdefs. A utility that preprocesses a message source file.
multibyte character. A coded character that uses one or more bytes to represent data.
Multibyte data streams can include characters with varying widths.
octet. An ordered set of bits that represents a character or a part of a character. The
number of bits per octet is implementation-dependent; the number of bits in an octet is
usually 8. Also called a byte.
Open System Services (OSS). An open system environment available for interactive or
programmatic use with the HP NonStop Kernel operating system. Processes that run
in the OSS environment usually use the OSS application program interface; interactive
users of the OSS environment usually use the OSS shell for their command interpreter.
Synonymous with "Open System Services (OSS) environment." Contrast with
Guardian.
OSS. See Open System Services (OSS).