localisation

programming (l10n) Adapting a product to meet the language,

cultural and other requirements of a specific target market

"locale".

Localisation includes the translation of the user interface,

on-line help and documentation, and ensuring the images

and concepts are culturally appropriate and sensitive. There

may be subtle cross-cultural considerations, e.g. do the icons

make sense in other parts of the world?

Internationalisation is the process that occurs during

application development that makes localisation easier by

separating the details that differ between locales from the

rest of the program that stays the same. If

internationalisation is thorough, localisation will require no

programming.

The abbreviation l10n means "L - 10 letters - N".

(1999-06-09)