Programmer's Reference
This chapter assumes familiarity with the following terms.
- Coded character set
- Characters that define how integer code points are interpreted and
displayed. A code point is simply a numeric value--its
semantic interpretation (for example, a vowel, whitespace, or punctuation) and
graphical interpretations (that is, associated glyph) are defined by the coded
character set associated with the code point.
- Note:
- A coded character set is sometimes referred to as a code page or
code set. For the purposes of this chapter these terms are
synonymous.
- Composite message
- A localized message composed of several smaller localized strings and
assembled at run time (typically using message templates).
- Externalization
- The process of separating language- and culture-dependent information from
the processing of an application. For example, messages displayed to
users are often hard-coded into applications and limit the usefulness of the
application outside of the language and culture for which it was
designed. The process of externalization enables the application to be
easily adapted for use in numerous locales.
- External message dictionary
- A dictionary (usually a pool dictionary) that contains localized messages
for a particular locale and character set, stored in a disk file.
- Indexed external message
- A localized message that is further identified and accessed by an integer
key and is stored in a disk file.
- Internationalization
- The process of designing an application in a manner that is independent of
the local customs and culture in which it was developed. In practice,
this means ensuring that the application makes no assumptions about language,
local customs, or character set, thus creating an application that is
location-neutral.
- Note:
- Internationalization is referred to as NL-enablement or
NLS-enablement. An internationalized application is often
termed NLS-enabled.
- Language
- The whole body of written words and system of combining words used by a
particular group of people; for example, English or French.
- Locale
- A language/territory combination that dictates conventions for the
presentation of information, such as collation order, character
classification, monetary and numeric formats, and date and time
formats. Both language and territory are necessary to identify a locale
because the same language might be spoken in many geographic areas, each of
which has distinct cultural conventions.
- Note:
- A country might, but does not necessarily, identify a particular
locale. For example, Canada supports two distinct locales: French
Canada and English Canada. Simply knowing that an application is
destined for Canada is insufficient.
- Localization
- Refers to the process of adapting software to a particular locale
(language, territory, and character set). An internationalized
application contains no code that is dependent on the end user's
language, the characters needed to represent the language, or any formats such
as time, date, and currency that the user expects to see and interact
with. Because the language- and culture-dependent information is
separate from the application source code, the application does not need to be
rewritten or recompiled to be marketed in different countries. Instead,
the only requirement is for the externalized information to be localized by
translation experts.
- Localized message
- A message string that has been designed for a specific locale and
character set combination. Localized messages are referenced in
application code through identifiers that are independent of locale and
character set.
- Message catalog
- A file that resides in secondary storage that can contain indexed
external messages and external message dictionaries. A
single message catalog might contain indexed external messages and external
message dictionaries for multiple locale and character set
combinations.
- Message template
- A string template containing field identifiers that are replaced with
string arguments to form a composite message. For example, binding the
message template "This is a %1 message template" with the string "useful"
produces the composite message "This is a useful message template."
- Territory
- A linguistic or cultural entity that might or might not correspond to a
geographic area; for example, Arabic, Canadian, Japanese, Mexican, and
YugoCroatian.
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