Part IV: Localization

Part IV: Localization

So far this book has concentrated on how to design and create a world-ready application—one that is globalized and localizable—which is the first key process of creating an internationalized product. This part of the book focuses on the second key process of internationalization—localization. The concepts and practices discussed in Part III,"Localizability," and Part IV, "Localization," work in tandem to ensure that your software product's code, resources, and content are fully adapted for a particular market. While the chapters within Part III helped you prepare your application for both software and content localization, Part IV takes this effort one step further.

Localization is a complex process of translation, adaptation of cultural, political and graphic elements, troubleshooting, and if localizability is not done correctly, re-engineering of the original product. Some of the many elements that are modified in software and content localization include text, layout, graphics, keyboard shortcuts, fonts, character sets, and locale data, in addition to the product's build process and packaging. Chapter 10, "Localization," identifies areas to be aware of in order to expedite localization of these elements. It also pinpoints the criteria that good localization tools should meet, shows the people, tasks, and skills that comprise a localization team and process, and gives recommendations regarding scheduling and localization outsourcing.

The material within Part IV is intended as a way to acquaint you with the localization process, so you can tailor your design and development decisions accordingly. It is not meant to teach localizers how to do their job, which could comprise an entire book in itself. For this reason—and also because globalization, localizability and localization are separate but connected functions in creating international software—Part IV consists of one chapter.