Language and Locale Support

Microsoft invests significant resources in developing and localizing the 33 languages for client versions of Windows and the 19 languages for server versions of Windows. In addition, the number of locales supported increases with each new version (see Table 2.2).

Table 2.2. Number of Locales Supported for Each Windows Version

Windows Version	Locales Supported
Windows Vista	200+
Windows XP Service Pack 2	160
Windows Server 2003	135
Windows XP	135
Windows 2000	125
Windows NT 4.0	105
Windows NT 3.51	45
Windows Millennium Edition	114
Windows 98	114
Windows 95	105

Supporting and maintaining these languages involves a significant effort, so it is not surprising that there are still many languages for which no version of Windows is available. Sometimes this is a reflection of the business case for the given language (demand vs. significant development effort), but sometimes it is a consequence of Microsoft being bound by U.S. export law and being unable to support certain languages in certain locales. In response to the former, Microsoft created Windows Language Interface Packs (LIPs). A LIP is a partial localization of a language or a language in a specific region. It is a localization of the 20% of the features that are used 80% of the time (the "20/80" rule). Typically, this includes the desktop, Control Panel applications, Windows Explorer, Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, and other commonly used user interfaces. The result is that Microsoft is capable of providing partial support for many more languages and locales. The release of new LIPs is not limited to the release of platforms and service packs. At the time of writing, the number of LIPs stands at 27 (including Bulgarian, Catalan, Latvian, and Thai); for an up-to-date list, see http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/DrIntl/faqs/lipfaq.mspx#EWB.

Despite the success of this approach, LIPs cannot provide support for all languages and locales by themselves. LIPs are limited to the functionality included in the operating system's National Language Support (NLS). If the NLS functionality to support a language is missing, the language cannot be supported. In response to this, Microsoft created Enabling Language Kits (ELKs). ELKs add NLS support to allow LIPs to be created for a language. An ELK can add new fonts, shaping engines (which shape characters according to their context), keyboards, sorts, and locale information, to allow a LIP to be created for a given language/region. ELKs in Windows XP SP2 include Bengali, Bosnian, Maori, Maltese, Quechua, Sami, and Welsh.