Programmer's Guide
Internationalization and Localization

Introduction to internationalization and localization

Internationalization is the general term for supporting multiple languages in an application. Internationalization is often abbreviated as I18N, which indicates the letter I followed by 18 characters and the letter N.

Localization is the process by which your application supports a specific language or region. Localization is often abbreviated as L10N, which indicates the letter L followed by 10 characters and the letter N.

A locale is the set of localized information for one region. For example, the United States is a locale. A locale defines the language of the content and the character set that you use, both of which you define programmatically. To properly localize an application, you must be aware of the regional differences in the following components of a web application:

• Labels
• Messages
• Online help text
• Date and time formatting
• Number formats
• Currencies
• Measurements

When targeting a specific locale, you must also consider the following aspects of your web application:

• Page layouts
• Navigation elements
• Colors
• Graphics

For example, in the US, the color red often implies danger. However, in China, red connotes prosperity. You would display warning messages in red for a web application that targets a US locale; in China, you would choose a meaningful color for that culture.

This section introduces you to techniques for localizing your web applications. It shows the usage of locale-aware classes available in the servlet API.

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